My Father, The Outlaw
by SpazzChicken
Summary: As her mother's death and her father's dark nature hangs over her head, Kagome must keep going strong. To change her setinstone destiny. To become more than any before her.
1. My Dearly Departed

Just updated this to fix the previous horrible format. My computer actually listens to me now so I was able to fix this chapter.

* * *

The weeds gave me slight scratches as I gathered the coltsfoot my mother had sent me out to get. Suddenly, as I was picking the last of the coltsfoot, I felt my mother's protection spell envelope me. I dropped the small basket I had been holding and dropped to the ground. The force of her spell surprising me and I knew something was horribly wrong if she had sent such a powerful spell to me.

I closed my eyes and hoped that it was something easily taken care of. Hoped that my mother was alive and had only sent out the spell just in case. In just a few seconds the spell was gone. I could feel it being ripped away from me, like a blanket ripped off a child.

I opened my eyes to see that everything was in order. Farmers ploughed their land and a shepherd boy ushered his sheep out to the fields. The village beyond going about its daily business, and the lord's stronghold, farther away still, silent and watching. I turned and ran through the forest, knowing in my very bones that something was wrong. Even before I smelt smoke on the wind.

I burst through a last thicket and found my former home smoldering on the ground. The home that had protected me and my mother from harsh winds, cold winters and the dangers of wild beasts, it could not withstand an attack from men.

Please let mother have gotten out. Let her be waiting for me by the spring like she would when I got lost and finally heard the gurgling of the waters. Just let her be alive.

I slowly walked through the rubble, still warm from the fire. I continued to pray that I would not see her remains. I went around a small bit of fire burning itself out, only to see her. Lying as if she were only sleeping, her hair spread out around her head, hands folded on top of her stomach, her mouth tilted downward a bit.

She's not burnt, not a scratch or blood. Maybe she did live, and is just sleeping off the fatigue that resulted when she used such a spell?

I ventured close enough to smell the burnt hair. As I reached to touch her face the image was swept away by a breeze. Leaving her charred body lying in its place. I wept bitter tears then, how could the wind steal her away from me? She was my mother, without her how could I live? If I stayed and built another cottage who ever had done this would likely do the same to me. If I left, where would I go? I could work, but who would put their own lives in danger for letting me work?

I sat by my mother's body until the sun began to set behind the mountains. I knew I had to do something to protect her body from animals searching out food after the hard winter, so I stood and started to build a cairn over her body.

As I was about to set a stone down, I spotted my mother's old ring. A silver band with a stone the size of a pebble embedded in it. The stone, which was the color of amber, had caught my eye. I picked it up and set it into my apron pocket.

When I had finished the moon was already high in the dark sky. Too tired to run, but scared of the creatures that hunted in the woods, I set a fast walk to the God Tree. It rested nearly above the small spring. Its thick branches reaching over the spring and far onto the other side.

Tired as I was, I was determined to climb up to my special hollow. Using the same gnarls for footholds as I did when I was smaller, I climbed to the hollow in the tree. It was near the middle of the tree, so high up that if you fell you would most likely die.

But I had never felt fear when I came up to this spot, it was almost the opposite. The tree gave me comfort. I took out the ring and looked closely at it.

My mother had once told me that this ring had been passed through the women in our family since the beginning of the hills. She told me that the color of the stone foretold something within the woman's life. Birth, life, soul, death. The ring had been given to my mother because she would die by the color, amber fire. Did it mean the same for me? Was my future set in stone, or could I still change it?

_You cannot change the future any more than you can change the past._

She had told me that too.

* * *

Three dark wolves ran through the underbrush, chasing their prey with the stealth of natural killers. But they did not hunt to eat; this time they were hunting what they thought to be a being unfit to carry wolf blood in his veins.

The silver wolf-dog ran to a giant tree, stumbling with his injuries. His blood spouting out various gashes the three wolves had given him. He lay down by the tree, exhausted to the point of fainting. But when his head grazed the ancient God Tree new strength entered his body.

So he ran on in the night, wolves close on his tail. Leaving only a pool of blood by the tree with the girl sleeping in it.

The sun's early light pierced through the thick leaves of the tree. My back leaned against its thick trunk.

I looked down towards the ground and saw a fresh blood stain. After looking myself over for any gashes I concluded that an animal must have killed another while I was sleeping.

I wiped away the tears that had sprung from my eyes while I dreamt of my mother. Then, a little shakily, climbed down the trunk with the ring, a bow and arrows that I had made myself, and a thin dagger. Once my feet touched the dew soaked earth I held the dagger up against my black mane and with one quick swipe cut off the outlandish dark mass.

Unlike the girls who lived in the village my hair had been black, not brown or golden. They spoke me of like I was a deformed animal, or a witch. And with my dark brown eyes they called me stranger still. I couldn't fit in with them, there was no one to say goodbye to before I left to find my father.

Only a moment before had I remembered what my mother had told me about my outlaw father, Robin Hood. I would go to seek him in Sherwood Forest and tell him what had happened. Perhaps he would remember Celandine, my mother. If he did then I would tell him of myself. Kagome, daughter of Celandine.

But if he didn't want me, or was ashamed of me then I would be forced to travel on my own. Far away from this hurtful land, into the arms of death, and go to see my mother instead. So I left in the direction I thought was the way to Sherwood Forest.

* * *

Along the way, I stumbled upon a merchant trying to sell some of the poor quality clothing to a group of village girls. As he tried to convince him that his wares were one of a kind, the girls taunted him and giggled at his antics.

I fingered the few coins that I had and set a fast walk to the cart, pushing some girls out of the way. They hardly took notice of me until I asked to buy some of the boy's clothes.

Starcha, the leader, seemed to realize it was me. She pointed to me and led the other girls on a rant about my finally becoming a boy. I was ignoring them fine until one of them mentioned how my mother was just as mannish and odd.

My face burned with anger and I turned to the girl and swung my fist at her face as hard as I could. She fell holding her face and calling for help, her nose was bleeding all over her dress and had squirted at another a girl as she fell. Before anyone could catch me and arrest me for it I ran farther up the path.

Once, I thought I heard horse hooves so I jumped off the path and ran into the deep of the forest, the thick undergrowth kept tripping me and I fell more than once. When I was finally out of breath my elbows and knees were bloody, my hands had gashes all over and splinters were stuck all over my sore body.

I lay down and wished I was back home with my mother and that somebody would just be my friend, I hated traveling alone. My eyes closed and I went into a fitful sleep, dreaming of amber eyes.

* * *

I could smell something on the slight breeze that flowed through the forest. I remembered smelling that scent when I had been by that tree.

I ran to the smell with my tail wagging, like it had a mind of its own. I never could stop it, even when it started at an embarrassing time. Like when someone rubbed my ears just the right way.

Maybe whoever had the smell would want someone to travel with. I needed to be moving. I could barely move around the forest when Kouga and those damn wolves are always trying to kill me.

I shook my head and ran on to the source of the smell. I almost missed the girl lying on the ground with a coarse brown coat covering most of her small body. Her short ebony hair fanning out in all directions as she slept.

Slowly, I came closer to her curled up form. She didn't seem like she was going to reach behind her and pull out a bow and arrows. But girls were always like that, you just can't understand what they're going to do next.

I started sniffing around her, all I could smell was her scent mixed with blood. Seeing the scratches I started licking them as my instincts kicked in. It tasted disgusting, but maybe she wouldn't kill me if I helped her like this.

Or she could think that I'm eating her. Either way.

* * *

I woke up to feeling something rubbing on my knees. When I opened my eyes I found a huge wolf standing above me licking my knees.

I did the first thing that came to mind; I rubbed those cute little ears! The wolf stopped licking, giving me look that said "Keep doing that and I'm gonna start eating you" but his tail wagged anyways.

I giggled a little at this strange wolf, maybe it was part dog? Whatever it was it was a guy, and it seemed this was the friend I had asked for. I looked at him more closely as he stood waiting for me to do something.

He had a sleek silver coat with black on his forehead and neck. He had dirt on his underbelly and mud on his paws. There were patches of new fur that looked like they were just coming in. He had long nails with sharp points, almost unnaturally that way. And I could see the tips of his fangs poking out from the sleek muzzle. His eyes were purplish with a hint of gold in them. They didn't seem like animal eyes, more like he was a boy stuck in a wolf's body.

Finally, he grew tired of me staring at him and turned his back to me and lay down. His puffy silver tail with a black tip waved back and forth in front of my face. Tickling my nose.

Soon I could feel a sneeze coming up, and when it came out in a loud whoosh of air the wolf-dog seemed to glare at me.

I reached my hand towards his muzzle, "Do you have a name?" His expression seemed even more boy like than before, confusion obvious in his eyes.

* * *

A name? I never thought of one. And never had one. Mother had called me baby and everyone else calls me half breed.

The girl said something, "My name's Kagome. And if you don't mind I'll call you...Hmmm, dog wolf. Yea! Inuyasha." (AN: I know that's not what Inuyasha means but in this fic that's what it means.)

She's going to call me dog-wolf? That's real creative. At least it's not a girl's name.

Again she was talking to me. Couldn't she tell I wanted to sleep?

"Guess you must not have a home either. I'm searching for my father. Hopefully he'll want me. But he's all the way in Sherwood Forest. Do you want to come with me? I don't like to travel alone, especially in forests that have hungry wolves in them."

Yeah, but you aren't being chased by them...Wait! Did she ask me to come with her? This was too good to be true, now she can't chase me away when I follow her. Hopefully. And she'll get all the food and I won't have to run around chasing rabbits. Stupid rabbits.

Wonder why she doesn't have a home. Did she run away or did she get kicked out? I guess I'll have to find out.

* * *

Inuyasha pushed his head into my side; maybe he wanted me to talk more?

"Ummm, you want me to talk more?" He shook his head and gave a low whine. "Okay, me and mother lived in a little glen, in our cottage that my grandparents had built when they had first searched for a place to live. It was really beautiful in the spring when the plants would bloom and get new leaves. She would always sing a song about spring to celebrate it and we'd stand out there for awhile until I got hungry and she laughed and went inside to make me something. That first day of spring we'd always take it easy and save our hard chores for the next day."

I sighed my heart was breaking remembering all those good times with her in the spring. It had been our private holiday. Inuyasha looked at me with a bewildered gaze; I guess he had never had a family.

The only thing I thought worse then my mother dying was not knowing her at all. A tear escaped and ran down my cheek, to drop off into Inuyasha's fur.

It was strange hearing her talk about her mother in such a loving way. When I heard the story I discarded my idea that she had been kicked out or that she ran away.

When she came to the ending her voice was quivering and her brown eyes were so sad. Then I felt a drop of water fall onto my fur, I turned and saw that the girl was trying to hold back tears. Something terrible must have happened if she was this upset.

I put my paw on her hand that was pressed against the earth, careful not to scratch her with my nails. She looked at me and pulled me into a hug. Her arms were wrapped around me and she sobbed into my coat.

I felt awkward and couldn't do anything but let her cry. I could vaguely hear her sobbing out a name and the word mother. It was turning dark by the time that I felt her loosen her grip on my neck, and heard her deep slow breathing.

I eased her to the ground and laid her in a soft bed of flattened leaves. Then I got up, put on my disguise and went to go patrol where the girl was sleeping.

* * *

Ugh...I really need to revise this whole beginning. I apologize for my terrible writing. I think I was...13(?) when I first wrote this. I barely knew how to use a computer back then. And I was still playing Sims1.

I consider myself much more adept with the computer now. And with Sims2. (Uni & NL)


	2. The Blood of My Mother

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Wolf's Rain or Rowan Hood.

###

I was in a small room, mist floating in and out of the walls. A familiar melody being hummed far away. I could only stand there and stare, my body wasn't there anymore.

From the floor, rose a boy. His long silver hair shining in the light that had suddenly appeared. A light purple and pink light shining from the floor around him.

He reached his hand to me, shouting something I couldn't hear because the far away melody got louder and louder until the room began to be sucked into a hole outside. I just stood there and didn't try to grab his hand.

The hole had floated away from the earth and came up behind the boy. His eyes had been hooded but he looked up then, and it was the color of the stone. Amber.

Then my dream turned to forgotten memories of my mother. The times before I was even born. Then, even those faded away to be replaced with deep dreamless sleep.

###

I yawned, stretched my arms behind my head and shook the dew from myself. I was getting up when I realized there were clothes folded next to my soft bed of leaves.

I picked them up, finding out they were boys clothes. And an old sword lay farther away.

Inuyasha was nowhere to be found but he was the only one who could have found me in this wild forest. So I thought that he must have stolen them from a heap of clothes, they were probably already folded when he took them.

Well, it was better than the beat up coat I had.

I observed the clothes; they were in good condition and plenty big enough for me. The problem was that they were bright red, which would be easily noticed in the woods. I sighed; nothing ever went perfect for me. It had long sleeves that would protect my bruised arms from any more cuts, and the long pants would protect my legs too. The shirt was loose so it wouldn't reveal my being a girl if I bound them too. (AN: Inuyasha's real clothes like on the anime except the pants aren't so poofy and the pants longer. And the shirt smaller.)

I didn't know what to do with the sword except to keep it with me to look more boyish and until I could sell it or something.

Picking it up, I found out it wasn't nearly as heavy as I thought it was. It was light and fit inside my small hands almost flawlessly, except for my thumb kind of sticking out.

Quickly taking a look around I started dressing, finishing with a small messy bow in front to keep up the pants. But making sure that it looked like I was just a scrawny boy and not like a girl pretending to be one.

After checking that everything was in order, I tied a spare bowstring around my torso to keep the sword in place while I'm walking.

Oh no, what about shoes? Trust Inuyasha to be the only dog that doesn't bring you shoes. Now I'd have to buy some, but where would I get any money?

Then the dog-wolf comes running up to me, with blood trailing from some really deep cuts.

"Inuyasha! What happened, did you get caught stealing from a farmer or something?" I pulled him into the clearing and let him collapse. I started cutting fur away from the wounds with the dagger.

"Couldn't you have just stayed here? If you die I'll have no one to travel with to Sherwood."

Once done with the cutting I got together some plants that were growing nearby and made him eat them.

"These will help with the pain, hopefully. I don't know much about healing dog-wolves. Now I just need some bindings to stop the blood."

Finally I decided to cut my tattered dress into strips to put around his legs and neck where most of the bleeding was coming from. Looking over his neck wounds I was pretty sure that they weren't going to kill him, but he wouldn't be moving for a couple of days.

"I wish the stories were true about wolves turning into humans. Then you could tell me what happened. Wait a moment, this looks like a bite mark. Was it wolves?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he struggled to get up. I pushed him down, putting my hand on his chest firmly to keep him from trying to get up anymore.

"Inuyasha, you can't move or your bandages will fall off. If there are wolves I'll take of it. Obviously you were no match for them before so why would you be now?" I knew I spoke too harshly, but if I didn't set down that rule he would probably run away while I wasn't looking.

After that he lay down and ignored me completely while I found some salve ingredients. Now my hands were scratched up from digging through layers of thorny plants just to get one leaf. But the clothes did keep my arms and legs safe.

The camp was silent and motionless that night, neither of us moving, me not speaking. It was as if Inuyasha wasn't even there, I guessed that he'd probably be gone in the morning.

###

I was walking in my human form near the river. I'd left Kagome with a small protection spell, in case there were some bandits traveling around or a dangerous animal.

Even though she didn't deserve it after what she had said to me.

No match for those dirty, mangy, flea ridden, idiotic wolves? How dare she even say that after I agreed to take her to Sherwood Forest! To see her neglectful father, no less.

A fast wind came blowing in, the stench of Kouga and his wolves riding it. A low growl escaped my throat.

The foliage parted and the owners' of the repulsive smell jumped at me. Kouga reaching for my throat as his cronies lunged for my arms and legs.

We didn't exchange insults, and we didn't stand and argue, they came to kill me and I was here to live. But they did smile at me.

Smiles really make the world go round.

Soon their attacks forced me back to a densely covered path that led to the clearing where Kagome was sleeping for the night. I couldn't see her but I could pick up her feminine scent, which was beginning to ripen a bit, through the bushes and trees that hid her. Being a wolf Kouga must've smelt it, but at the moment he was having too much fun trying to kill me.

I can't die if I want Kagome to live, or stay innocent. But why do I care so much?

I tried to steer the fight away from Kagome's clearing, instead, Kouga darted the other way, straight into the clearing. And his cronies were taking up all my attention; I couldn't get to her in time.

Please let her be hiding.

I could hear grunts, then Kouga came running out with weird orange burns around his neck. He motioned to his cronies and took off through the hard packed under growth.

"What happened to him?"

I turned towards the direction of the clearing, only to find Kagome standing in the path. Boy did she look peeved.

"Who are you?"

I almost pointed to myself when I realized that she hadn't seen me in this form before. Now, what should I say?

"Unless you want the same treatment your friend got, you had better talk." She had a full glare pinned on me; one hand was holding _my_ sword's hilt and the other had an orange glow around it.

I waved my hands in front of my face and tried to talk, this would be my first time, "No, I... my name," I thought, "Mirsha."

Yeah, that's perfect. She'll never know it's me.

Kagome rolled her eyes, but at least she had stopped glaring.

"What do you want here?"

I had to carefully think out the perfect words, "Umm..."

Again, she rolled her eyes. Then she started walking to me slowly. Once she was standing a few feet away from me, she leaned towards me, reached out her hand and rubbed my doggy ears.

When she was done she slapped with the same hand, and it hurt! It wasn't like I'd done anything.

"Hey! Tad hurts."

Before I realized, she had already walked back.

Well fine then, if Kagome didn't want to talk to Mirsha, maybe she'd talk to Inuyasha.

###

It was still night but Kagome had made a fire, a very wimpy fire. It just kind of sputtered and coughed. I was afraid to breath on it, the pathetic little fire was gonna die out soon anyways though.

"Mirsha?! What could he possibly get from me wearing the same clothes as him?" I watched Kagome pace and rant from my position near the fire, "If it's some sick kind of pleasure I'm definitely going to kill him. Or maybe I'll sick you on him...Hmm..."

Right now? Okay.

I got up and started chasing my tail. Kagome laughed, got up and began wrestling me. It turned out awkward for me.

She had her arms wrapped around me and was pushing me to the ground. I could easily have shaken her off, but it almost seemed right to be doing this with her.

Once we stopped, since she was exhausted, she lay down by me and rubbed my side as the fire died out completely and we were left in the darkness of midnight.

"You're too fun, Inuyasha."

You betcha I am.

###

We were walking through the last stretch of the smaller woods that used to be by my home. The trees were getting more spread apart and the plants were getting less thorny. But it was getting hotter and hotter through out the day and no one could be seen on the far off hillsides that I could see through some gaps in the trees.

Inuyasha was panting, while I sweat and trudged in the dry leaves underfoot. The crackling made tons of noise but there was hardly a risk that any would be out on a day like today. I was so hot that when a drop of Inuyasha's drool landed on my feet it felt like a drop of cold water.

"Where's a river when you need one?" I was surprised at how hoarse I sounded and how big my tongue felt. My mouth must have dried out without anything to water it.

The dog-wolf didn't even look at me; he just kept walking and panting with his tongue hanging out the side. And shedding.

And the fur was sticking to me, making me furry. I couldn't get the energy to rub them off, but I doubt it would have made a difference. Those hairs looked pretty stubborn.

"Would you just...wow..."

We finally got out of the woods and there was a huge mountain range in front of us, the peaks were hidden in clouds. And they were covered in freshly fallen snow.

But what caught Inuyasha's attention was the little mountain spring off to the side; it was so clear and looked so inviting after the hot day. Inuyasha was already getting his fill of the clear liquid and wetting his silver coat in it.

"Make room!"

I jumped in, hitting my knees on the rocky bottom but was glad for the icy water.

The spring only went up to my thighs, the water was freezing, and the sun was headed down, but I decided to take a bath anyways. It was probably the best I would get for awhile.

"Inuyasha go make sure no one's around. I've got to take a bath before the sun goes down. I'll make a fire after, if you could hunt something and bring it back here that would be great. Thanks!"

Inuyasha squeaked and ran out of sight of the spring in a hurry. I waited for awhile, waiting for him to come back and let me know if anyone was out there.

I whistled a couple times and he finally came back, his back had a streak of sap on it and his tail was between his legs.

"Looks like you need a bath too. You didn't see anyone I guess. Come on."

He stood frozen in place, violet eyes wide.

I almost whistled but he bolted into the forest before I got a chance to.

What spooked him? Oh well, I've got the whole spring to myself now.

###

Walking aimlessly in the forest wasn't as fun as it had seemed when I ran in here.

But it's better than taking that bath.

_Is it?_

I shook my head; there was no room for those kinds of thoughts. I'm not like her; I'm a wolf and not a human. Even if I took on my disguised form to be with her, the disguise is deformed thanks to my dog part.

Unlike normal wolves, I can't disguise myself as a normal human. I have the disguise available, but with it I have dog ears, silver hair and golden eyes. I can't fit in with it or without it. All because of my mother's genes.

I sighed; these thoughts were what I'd have to deal with the rest of my life. For now I may have found a purpose but as soon as Kagome was with her father I'd be run out like the filthy mutt I am.

She and I are only traveling together because she wanted some company, if some human boy came along she'd probably shoo me away.

But what do I care? She's just some human to keep me entertained for a while. I've lived without anyone before and I could now.

"_Is that what you want dog-wolf?"_

I whirled around at the sound of the faint voice, there were no strange scents and I couldn't see anyone. But I could definitely _feel_ something around me.

"_Do you want to be alone dog-wolf?"_

I bared my teeth and the fur on my back stood straight.

"_Would you like me to help dog-wolf?"_

I couldn't move, I had a feeling of something holding me in place, so instead I let out a high pitched wail. It echoed through the darkening evening, the feeling of something pushing my throat was strong. It felt like it was trying to crush my vocal cords or trying to kill me.

"_You can be alone now dog-wolf. The girl will soon be gone. Do not worry. I will watch over you dog-wolf."_

I finally tried putting on my disguise. Maybe it would help.

I felt my claws turn to hands and my tail recede into my back. It was a painful thing when I was taking my time but hurrying like I was now made it almost too painful to bear.

And the pressure was still focused on me, so I was cringing in unimaginable pain while the voice seemed to stare at me. And its gaze felt so...wrong. I just wanted to kill it, whatever it was I wasn't going to let it hurt Kagome.

"_But I thought you wanted to get rid of the girl, dog-wolf."_

"You thought wrong, now get away from me!"

Was this thing able to read my thoughts? Or was it just a very good guesser?

"_I can feel what you think; we are connected dog-wolf."_

"No way, in seven hells, am I connected to a psycho like you!"

After I said this I pulled my body to one side and tried to take a step towards the spring. But my feet were stuck in the same place, the voice had pinned them down.

"_You cannot leave me. I am a part of you dog-wolf."_

I was starting to panic as the air got thinner and the pressure on my chest got heavier. I dropped to my knees heavily, unable to keep myself up.

"_Rest now. I will watch over you, dog-wolf."_

My vision got blurry and I started to shut my eyes, before I did I saw the owner of the voice. A woman with long black hair and crimson clothes, her arms were open and she started to pull me into them. I fell forwards then blacked out.

###

After I had slid into the icy water I wished I'd waited until morning. The sun had just gone down into the horizon some more and there was only shadows covering the spring.

I decided to rinse my shortened hair then get out and build that fire.

Once I got out I threw on my pants and the white under kimono, leaving the haori off. Then I gathered a few sticks and set up the fire.

I wonder where Inuyasha is, it's getting pretty dark.

I whistled a couple times but nothing, finally I decided to check around the edges of the woods.

"Inuyasha?" I called while peering around a large oak.

My reply was a wail, like some kind of animal's.

Oh gods, Inuyasha. Please let it not have been him.

I ran into the woods towards where I thought I heard the sound, it was so dark I kept stumbling and I wished I had put on my haori. There were no more sounds but the air seemed to pulsate with evil energy. My ring kept giving off little orange sparks and my hand was vibrating with energy.

"Inuyasha?"

I tripped over a dead tree and fell into a clearing to see some woman holding a limp body. Her back was turned to me but I could sense a strange energy coming from her. I reached out to tap her shoulder, but her hand caught my wrist first.

Her hand was tiny, pale and had the coldness of death.

"I'm sorry, are you..."

I looked down to her lap to see Mirsha; he looked like he was struggling. His face was drained of color and his chest barely moved.

"Mirsha?! He looks like he needs help; I have a fire back-."

The woman placed her hand over my mouth and said something under her breath. An icy blue glow spread from her fingertips to my mouth and nose, trying to suck the air from my body.

I put my own hand in front of the woman's, I concentrated and a small spark of my energy flew into the woman's mouth. She immediately grabbed for her throat while backing away. As she backed away her image slowly dissolved into the background.

My attention was already on Mirsha, I may not like him but he hadn't done anything to me. I wasn't about to let him die because of my dislike.

I tried to drag him back to the camp but couldn't get him through the underbrush without scratching him.

"Umm...wait here. I'll be right back."

Well duh, he isn't gonna go anywhere.

I raced back to camp and filled my homemade quiver with spring water.

Still no Inuyasha, I hope he's alright.

Once I had given the water to Mirsha and built a small fire, I tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

No cuts, bleeding or broken bones. I checked him for poisoning or some sickness. There was nothing, it looked like he just didn't have enough air in his lungs.

Well, there was only one way to fix this. I braced my self and hovered above the still boy. I knelt down and got lower and lower until my mouth was right over his. I took a deep breath, concentrated on gathering my energy into this breath and put my mouth on his while breathing in the energy enhanced air.

After I felt that it all the air I could get in was in I lifted my mouth off. I could feel my cheeks burning but I wouldn't be satisfied until I saw that boy breathing normally. It had really been my first encounter actually concentrating my energy somewhere other than my hand. It was draining and I could only hope that it would work.

It felt like the whole forest was waiting for a breath from the near dead Mirsha. Nothing moved and it was silent, though that might have been because of the black night.

Finally Mirsha let in a ragged breath, his closed eyes squinting.

I sighed, relieved that it had worked.

"Kagome?"

My eyes widened, I know I've never told him my name.

"Umm, yes?"

"Did you just...kiss me?" I couldn't see him but I think he was blushing just as much as I was.

What do I say to that? I _can't_ tell him that I did, maybe I could pass it off as a dream he had.

"You're pretty good."

He rolled over, onto his side, and went to sleep in what felt like two seconds flat. Now I could feel my whole face burning red hot, maybe I was the one dreaming.

Luckily when I'd gone back to get water I had remembered my haori and my weapons. I covered myself with the haori and tried to rest while leaning against a tree.

"I hope Inuyasha is okay. If he's hurt or dead I'll never forgive myself."

###

"You're pretty good."

Why did I say that? I couldn't even remember anything before when I'd woken up and smelled Kagome's scent.

I tried to sleep on my side and was just letting sleep take over when I heard her say something.

"I hope Inuyasha is okay. If he's hurt or dead I'll never forgive myself."

Did she really care that much about me? If she did then why was I hiding myself from her? Why couldn't I just tell her? She'd probably hate me if I showed her. But if I didn't then she could do something really embarrassing in front of me without realizing its me.

I couldn't hold it off, if she hated me for what I was then what would it matter to me?

I sat up, turning to Kagome I saw that she was almost completely asleep. I crawled over to her, gently shaking her with a clawed hand.

"Kagome, wake up. Please. Wake up; I need to tell you something."

She absently swatted away my hand, "Just a few more moments."

"No, get up, wench."

That got her awake fast, with my vision I could see her glaring at what she thought was me.

"What?" her voice was dangerously low.

"Can you see?"

"No."

This isn't gonna work if she can't see me transform. There has to be some light somewhere. I guess I'd have to find some moonlight. There'd be some on a hill...

I knelt down in front of the girl with my back to her, "Hurry, climb on."

"Excuse me?!"

"Just do it, I want to sleep tonight."

She grabbed her stuff and after eyeing my back like it would bite climbed on awkwardly. I shifted a bit and leaped off the ground, I could feel her grabbing my shoulders tighter and she buried her face in my hair.

Is she afraid of heights?

"Oi, wench, are you afraid of heights?"

"No, I'm afraid of you dropping me." Her voice was muffled as it came from within my hair.

I dropped to the ground and instead of jumping into the air again I began running through the forest in a blur. She lifted her head a little bit but still held onto my shoulders tight.

A hill, I know there are tons out here somewhere.

I stopped suddenly, nearly knocking Kagome off. There was a fox scent in the air, I didn't like it. It was mixed in with some kind of strange animal scent.

"What's the matter with you?"

My nose was tingling with the scent of not only fox but fox blood, it was nearby too.

Should I leave it or go help?

"Do you like foxes?"

One of her hands went to her mouth and she put her finger to it while thinking.

"Well, my mother had always said that village people were wrong. And the village people had always said that foxes were bad luck so...yes. I love foxes. Why?"

I shot off with her only holding on with one hand but when I started running the loose hand grabbed a lock of my hair. It hurt like hell but like that was gonna stop me now.

###

- Well, wasn't that an interesting show? Wonder who the woman was? If you're a real Inuyasha fan I think you know, sorry to all those that are fans of hers. When I started writing this I wasn't even planning on mentioning her. Oh well. Hope you all enjoy and good news is I've almost got chapter three done. Bye bye! -


	3. An Enchantress' Desires

Disclaimer: I own not Inuyasha, Wolf's Rain or Rowan Hood.

Please Enjoy!-

Samieko, I'm hoping to put Miroku and Sango in. They make everything all the more interesting, which is why a certain little fox is added in this chapter. Thanx for reviewing!

###

In the dark, decayed room of an ancient hut sat a woman. She was curled up on the hard wooden floor, her small hands clasping her knees to her chest. Her eyes were shadowed and empty.

She hadn't moved for days, it had taken all her power to talk to the dog-wolf and to show him an image of her.

"_The girl has poisoned your mind, dog-wolf. But do not worry, I will watch over you. So know that I am Kikyo, enchantress of souls."_

With that the woman held her knees tighter and drifted off to her special resting place hidden within the confines of her mind. She thought only of the dog-wolf while resting.

###

The scent of blood was stronger the closer I got to the sounds of laughing. My ears were freaking out because of the pitch of the noise; it felt like someone was screaming in my ears rather than someone laughing some feet away.

"Stay here."

I let Kagome drop to the ground then started edging towards the sounds. But I felt a tug on my sleeve as I turned to go. When I looked back I saw Kagome offering me my sword.

"Here. I can't use the piece of junk; maybe you can find some use for it. And I'm not staying here. I can fight too."

I grabbed my sword, unceremoniously, and leaving a scratch on Kagome's hand with one of my claws. A thin line of blood appeared but she looked like she didn't notice.

I saw but decided that if she didn't care then she didn't care.

What if she gets hurt?

"Fine, but don't expect me to rescue you if you get caught or anything."

"Why would I get caught?!"

"Why wouldn't you, you've never fought before."

I think I heard her teeth grinding, but she calmed down and stood waiting.

"Well?"

"Just follow the laughing."

She looked at me with a worried expression, "Uh, what laughing?"

She doesn't hear it? Maybe it's because I'm part wolf that I can hear it.

"Just follow me and don't make a sound."

She nodded but while she was following me she seemed to step on every available breakable stick there was. Once we were really close I was gonna turn around and give her a ride. But when I turned around to offer it she tripped over a sunken log and nearly fell on top of me. Luckily I caught her, somewhat. It kind of turned out that when I tried to catch her I went off balance and ended up falling backwards with her laying on me.

The laughing stopped and I could hear footsteps. It looked like Kagome could actually see the person but she wasn't getting up any time soon. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open, after a few seconds of that she buried her face in my haori.

Damn, if she doesn't get off of me then I can't get at what was laughing.

Wait, is she crying?

Her body was shaking and she was making some muffled sounds. I tried to sniff out any tears but the stench of fresh blood was overwhelming.

I realized that there was some kind of guy standing over us, but I couldn't see him.

"You are here early. The fox cub is tied down over there and the father's pelt is rolled up near that tree. Now where is my payment?"

I growled, this man had either gone insane or he'd gotten me mixed up with someone else.

"From your description, I had assumed you were a spirit."

I hated my position, especially since I couldn't see the man. But I doubted that Kagome would move from her spot after seeing whatever she saw. But I could try to get her off.

"Wench, you got to get off."

She didn't stop shaking or make a move to get off. Meanwhile the man had taken out a trident type thing from where it had been resting at my feet. And I got my first look at him.

He had his long black hair pulled back into a braid, and plenty of armor. There were little wheels attached to his boots, but they were of little use to a human like him. Most likely he had stolen them from a dead spirit.

"Killing the fox family was no hard thing. But I only did it for the rich reward you offered me. So where is it Shesshoumaru?"

My eye twitched, he did _not_ think I was Shesshoumaru.

"I'm not Shesshoumaru."

"Oh. Alright then." With that he raised the trident and threw it at me and Kagome.

###

I could hear everything going on around me, but I couldn't look up. There was too much blood, too muck gore. There was...parts... strewn all over. And the fur of some animal rolled up near a tree. So I had tried to hide in Mirsha's haori, and let go of the tears which had been there since that first night by myself.

I might have cried when I found my mother but this was different, now there was someone to hold onto. Even if it was a strange guy I hardly knew.

Suddenly I could feel Mirsha grabbing me tight and jumping up. Despite being afraid of seeing all those things again I looked up at Mirsha's face.

_His eyes had been hooded but he looked up then, and it was the color of the stone. Amber._

Déjà vu.

He jumped up once more after we hit the ground and set me in a tree.

"Stay here. Got it?"

I nodded; my eyes were glued on his. I think he noticed but he didn't say anything to make me stop. Before I could stop it, my arm had hooked his sleeve.

He looked back at me with a scowl, "What?"

I blushed, "Umm...good luck?"

He nearly ripped his arm away, and scowled heavily. But I think there was a hint of pink on his cheeks.

As he was jumping down to the ground, I caught site of the carnage again. This time all I could do was stare, there was no end to all the gore. I couldn't feel anything; it was like I was watching everything through someone else.

I could hear and see Mirsha fighting the man; Mirsha was landing punches and hadn't got a scratch on him. But I didn't feel amazement at his abilities because everything inside me was numb.

Then I heard a small whimpering sound coming from within a bag near the tree I was in. My curiosity overtook my senses and, after stealing a glance at Mirsha to make sure he wasn't watching, I climbed down. Then I ran to the bag.

When I opened it I saw a little bundle of fluff cowering at the bottom. Something at the sight of this pathetic thing made my heart break.

"What's the matter?" I made my voice as soft and gentle as I could, not wanting to scare the poor thing.

It turned its head toward me and I realized it was a baby fox. It had huge green eyes that were moist and so child like. I reached out my hand and tried coaxing it to me.

I guess it must have known I wasn't trying to hurt it because it pretty much jumped into my arms. It shook and was digging it's face into my clothes, probably trying to escape the smell of the blood or something.

I pet it's soft head in an attempt to calm it.

As it's shaking started to die down, the man had ran towards me and the fox. My eyes widened and I prepared myself for the blow as the man threw his trident.

Instead all I felt was something wet and thick hit my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Mirsha standing in front of me. The trident's points showing through his back.

I screamed. There was Mirsha with a trident all the way through him and his blood was all over me. The man stood there with confusion on his face, he was slowly backing away. The fox pup had run off my lap, he was running at the man at an impossible pace for such a young thing.

The man saw then turned and ran for a horse that was waiting nearby. But his feet were no match for the fox. The fox leaped at the man's back and viciously tore at the man's body.

Mirsha was still standing, but seemed to be frozen. I got up shakily and tried to run to him, but my feet were heavy and I could only walk.

"Mirsha."

He turned his head to me, "You were supposed to stay in the tree."

That's right. He put me up there so I wouldn't get in the way, and I came down anyway. It's my fault that he's going to die.

I felt the tears in my eyes well up and I couldn't look at him.

"I'm sorry." It came out in a sob, "I didn't mean to...do thi-this."

I looked up, and nearly fainted at what Mirsha did next.

###

The guy was losing and he couldn't throw that fork fast enough to hit me. He was getting exhausted but I had plenty of energy. Then the guy made a dirty move.

He ran at Kagome. Then he threw the trident at her, if it hit her she'd die within minutes.

I ran in front of her, shielding her from the attack with my body. When it hit I could feel blood spraying out of my back and chest, it was heavy enough to kill someone by hitting them. I heard Kagome scream and I would have looked to her if the trident weren't restricting my breathing so much.

The fox I smelt earlier ran at the guy who had just tried to kill Kagome. The fur over by that tree and all the body parts must have been someone from his family. That fox could run. Pretty fast for a cub.

I heard shuffling behind me, then Kagome came to stand to by my side.

"Mirsha." Her voice was coarse and ragged.

"You were supposed to stay in the tree."

Guilt clouded her face and she didn't look at me.

Dammit, does she have to cry?

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...do thi-this."

I sighed, and then looked at the fox to make sure he was handling himself. I looked just in time to see the guy throw him off of his back and jump on the horse.

Wasting no time I grabbed the trident that had pierced me and pulled. It came out with a little difficulty and blood flew to the ground. Then I scooped Kagome into my arms and raced off to catch the guy, on the way past the fox cub I reached down to grab him. I nearly dropped Kagome but she was already gripping my haori in a death vise.

"Here, hold him."

"You're bleeding a lot. Don't you feel this hole?"

She must be getting blood all over her, and now the cub will too. I'll have to leave them somewhere so they stay out of the way this time.

It was a big forest but not too many trees that were both high and safe. Finally finding one I leapt up till I found a sturdy branch and set Kagome and the cub on it.

"Don't move. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"What if you get hurt more?" Her voice was faint and her eyes downcast.

"If I'm not back before sunset then climb down and go east."

She nodded and held the cub tighter; she looked strangely depressed and empty. I put my hand on her shoulder then awkwardly tilted her head up with my other hand.

This is weird, why did I do it?

I felt her eyes searching mine as I was looking away. I looked into them but couldn't think of anything to say to help her feel better.

She smiled nonetheless, "You'll be back."

I stood on the branch, free of her brown eyes, then jumped straight off to the forest floor far below. Because of the hole in my body I lost my balance and almost fell on my stomach. I caught myself against a tree but now my breath was getting shorter.

Better find that guy and kill him before I'm dead too.

I ran off, not as fast as usual and I had a hard time breathing normally but I finally smelt that guy's scent.

There was still plenty of energy in me to take this guy out, no one was gonna get away with what he almost did.

###

He's been gone too long, I should go after him.

"What do you think, should I go after him?"

The fox cub squirmed out of my grasp; he climbed over to a slightly smaller branch. I tried to grab him, because I was afraid of him falling but he ran away to where I couldn't see him.

"Hey, get back here!"

"Coming!" replied a high pitched child's voice.

Then there was a tiny kid standing on the branch in front of me.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Shippo. I'm a fox." He boasted the last fact.

"A fox?"

"Yep, this is just my disguise so I can look like a human."

He was trying to look like a human?

"Don't you recognize me?"

Now that I think about it, that fox baby had big green eyes like those and they have the same color...er...hair. And they have the same tiny back feet.

"You're the fox baby?"

"Hey I'm not a baby!"

I kept quiet and just looked at this little fox-boy.

"How do you do that? I mean disguise yourself and all."

He had on this cute little expression, like he was thinking real hard.

"I guess you'd have to ask the wolf that was here before."

"What wolf, did he hurt you?"

"No the wolf that saved you from that trident thing."

Is he talking about... "Mirsha?! He's a wolf?!"

"No I think he's part dog or something. He looks like the spirit who...killed my father." His voice got quieter and his green eyes filled with tears.

Upon instinct I gathered him up in my arms and cuddled him. He nestled into my warm embrace and whimpered a bit but otherwise didn't cry at all. After a while I was sure that he had fallen asleep but surprised me when he voiced a question.

"What's the dog-wolf's name?"

His innocent question somehow made me sad.

I don't know who he is. I didn't even know what he was.

"I-I don't know exactly."

Shippo looked down at the ground and sighed, "He's definitely part wolf. Don't worry all wolves are very secretive even the wolves who marry humans. Some humans are married to wolves and might not even know it."

"Are you saying that one of my parents could be wolves and I'd never know?"

Shippo sat down cross legged and shut his eyes in what, I guess, he thought of as a wise posture.

"Yes, but if you were part wolf then you could see me right now as my real form. And you would be able to transform into your original form."

I blew out a relieved sigh and leaned against the trunk of the tree. Shippo eventually got up and jumped around on the branches of the tree.

Soon the sound of Shippo's small giggles and the pleasant breeze that blew through my shortened hair eased me to sleep.

###

I sat panting on the ground, killing that human had been harder on my body than I had thought. But he was dead after I sliced through his weak body with my claws.

How am I gonna get all the way to Kagome if I can't even breath?

I got up and started to where I left the wench and the cub. All the way in the midst of the thick forest.

Dammit, my blood's getting on everything. If something smells it then they'll follow me. But if I already started I ain't gonna stop.

Finally I could smell her scent and the fox's. By now my clothes were soaked in blood and the tips of my hair had blood on them, and some hair was sticking to the wound. There was blood dripping off my hand from where the guy had cut me with a dagger and a trickle of blood flowing into my left eye because of some branch ripping the skin above my eyebrow.

Once to the tree I collapsed, and a wave of déjà vu hit me. It was just like that time when I was running from Kouga and bleeding a lot. I had collapsed at the bottom of that tree and all I could think of was the sweet scent coming from somewhere in the tree's branches. But this time I got no extra energy from a tree; I just lay on my stomach and closed my eyes.

"You aren't dead are you?!" I heard a voice but didn't have the energy to open my eyes.

"No... but I will be soon."

"You're the dog-wolf that saved us, huh?"

Instead of taking the effort to open my eyes I smelled out who was talking.

"You're the runt that I risked my life for, huh?"

He seemed to move over to me and whispered in my ear, "You can take off your disguise now; it's just us and Kagome."

"But she doesn't know... I can't-."

"She's gonna find out one way or another, and I know how much energy it takes to put on the disguise. How come you kept it on this whole time?"

I couldn't say anything; I didn't know why I had stayed in my disguise so long. It was tiring and was probably draining me more.

I was gonna show her before, I guess now's as good a time as any.

Quickly I let my fingers melt back to paws and my face grow narrow and longer. It wasn't pleasant but it was easier than putting on the disguise.

After, I felt better enough to open my eyes a crack, just to watch Kagome's reaction.

She was kneeling next to me, examining my wounds already. Maybe she was familiar with wolf ways and the disguise hadn't surprised her a bit.

"So what's your real name?"

"Inuyasha."

"How can that be your real name if I gave it to you? Weren't you named by your parents or something?"

She stayed quiet for a minute then asked, "How am I talking to you right now?"

Why is she asking so many questions? I just wanna sleep...

I heard her talking but I was drifting away, everything was fading. The smells, sounds and the feel of the hard ground beneath me were all fading. Something was pulling me and I was too tired to resist.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid! It's all my fault. Hey, wakeup!"

I hardly felt something shaking me, and her voice was so faint.

"Please." The drifting stopped for a minute, something within me wanted to turn back, "Come back!"

I opened my eyes to see a bright orange light envelope me and pull my soul back to my body.

How can I see this? Am I already dead?

I could see my bloody body stretched out on the ground, the fox sitting near my head with tears running down his face and Kagome was kneeling by me. She was holding my head in her lap with a determined face as she called my soul back.

She was covered in my blood, but she didn't seem to care, even as more blood seeped onto her.

Suddenly I saw a blue light coming towards me, the power that had probably been pulling me before.

No way is that thing taking me away. No way am I gonna leave here without finishing what I started. There was no way...

"I'm not gonna die!" the scream was ripped out of my throat as I came into contact with my body again.

"Inuyasha?"

My eyes wouldn't focus for a minute, neither would my nose or ears. They were re-inspecting the living world again. Once I gained control I looked up at the girl who had saved me once more.

Her large brown eyes looked into mine and made me feel so warm and content.

Her and mother would have been great friends.

"Is he alive?"

Kagome nodded and raised my head up a bit to rest in her lap comfortably. The fox cub came to look at me on one side of Kagome, his paws rested on her knee.

"What are you gonna do about all the blood, Kagome?"

"Right," she looked at me with determination, "If you don't mind... I'm going to go and gather some things. Shippo, can you stay here and call me if you sense anyone?" She waited for a nod from the cub, "Alright, I'll be back soon."

Once Kagome had disappeared from view the runt started asking a bunch of stupid questions.

"Are you and Kagome gonna be married or mates?"

"Feh, why don't you go do guard stuff. I ain't in the mood to talk to you."

"Oh, I get it. You're already mates."

###

-I would have made this chapter longer but I got stuck. I'll probably start writing the next chapter tomorrow. But I'm also writing an author's note to explain some stuff in detail and what not.

Bye bye!-


	4. AN Legends & Background

Hello everybody! This is an author's note where I'm going to explain some things that confuse certain people that I have shown this story to.

Number one, Kikyo is an enchantress who has become obsessed over Inuyasha. I don't hate Kikyo but I don't love her, so I'm not saying that this is how Kikyo really is. So please don't get beat up over it, I just needed someone to play the part.

Number two, is the matter concerning how Shippo, Inuyasha, Kouga and other such animals are able to put on disguises. All creatures of the canine family were once able to put on disguises and talk to humans while in their original forms.

But legend (wink wink) has it that one of the direct ancestors of all dogs fell in love with a human. Now because the Great Spirit loved the dog so much, it gave the dog a choice. The dog could either take the form of a human permanently, instead of just having a human disguise, or it could remain a dog forever and all the dog's descendants would become human kind's companions.

The dog loved the human, but it could not try and take a place amongst humans so chose to never be able to take up a disguise again or be able to talk with humans.

Though the dog had been noble and wise, the other canines were disgusted and their backs to the dog.

These other canines were the wolf, the fox and the coyote. They all thought of themselves as cunning beasts and tried to kill humans without letting the Great Spirit know.

Of course the Great Spirit was furious but let them continue to kill the humans for six more moon cycles. At this point the wolf had become arrogant and had forsaken the Great Spirit because it thought of itself as the new lord of all. Wars broke out between the coyote, wolf and fox as each sought to rule.

Many perished during this time but the Great Spirit protected the canines from each other only because it loved them so much.

Once the six moon cycles had passed the Great Spirit passed judgment unto the three fighting. They were to have five nights each moon cycle where they would have to stay in their disguises and be weak and vulnerable like the humans they had killed.

Regarding the canines being able to transform in the first place, the Great Spirit had just created the wolf. And from it came the human, the dog, the fox and the coyote. The Great Spirit wished for its children to live together in harmony so gave the disguises to the canines.

And it also gave the human a disguise so he could play with the canines. The human did not think of himself like the others, he did not wish to play in the dirt and run on all four legs. So he never used the disguise and ignored the offers to run with the others.

The Great Spirit was saddened but gave the human his wish to stand on two legs forever more.

But it has been heard that when a human is bitten by a wolf with pure intentions, the human is granted back its disguise. There is no proof but none can deny that it isn't so.

So there are two important legends regarding the story and background of the world. I think I have one more, hopefully shorter than the others in my pocket...Yep; this one is about the other animals in the world. Maybe I should have named this the legend...uhh page thing...

After the Great Spirit had created the first five beings it decided that the world needed to be filled with animals. So it began the work of five centuries to create every living being on earth and give that being a mate.

When the Great Spirit saw how closely some animals bonded with humans (who had multiplied in five centuries time), it decided that if the animal's soul stayed pure that it could put on a human disguise.

Most beasts remained as they were; in fact, the only other animals to transform that weren't canines were wild cats and their descendants.

These cats enjoyed being among humans and acting like them.

The Great Spirit was amazed at how this cat had been able to walk among the humans and neither become tainted nor fall in love.

In other words, the cat was able to do what none of the first five were able to.

In this way the cat was given much honor and was protected against most by the Great Spirit and was given the freedom of staying in the original form or the disguise.

Only one cat ever forsook her freedom. But that is a tale for another day and the next chapter will be back to normal. This was just background info that I might fit into the story later on.

I think I covered everything so bye bye!-


	5. The Tale of a Dog

Disclaimer: sigh I do not own any anime mentioned nor the book, Rowan Hood.

Hi!- In case you didn't read my note with the legends in it I'm hoping to include at least one legend in this chapterâ€ After watching both Inuyasha and Wolf's Rain I'm fairly inspired.

Okay, have fun! -

PS- When Inuyasha or Shippo are talking in their four-legged bodies the speech will be in (') things. And this chapter may not be too exciting.

###

I was walking with my two new friends, Kagome and Inuyasha. Neither of them had told me what we were doing or where we were going.

They probably think I'm just a baby.

'What's the matter with you, runt?'

'I'm not a baby!'

I ran ahead but I didn't see this big root thing sticking up in front of me andâ€ I fell.

"Shippo, are you alright?"

Why do I have such bad luck?

First some strange spirit wants to kill my dad, and thenâ€ someone actually kills Father. Then I ask Inuyasha a few innocent questions and he pounds me to the ground. And after that I get woken up really early in the morning so we can travel somewhere that no one tells me about because everyone thinks I'm a baby.

And now this stupid root trips me when I'm trying to not be a baby! Well, now I'm gonna get some answers!

'Kagome, where are we going?'

This hurt look passed over her face and I felt really bad.

"We're going to find my father, Robin Hood."

'Robin Hood? Isn't that some...uh guy?'

"Yes, he's a famous outlaw. Everyone says he steals from the rich so he can give to the poor, but I don't know if it's true."

'So why are we trying to find him?' I looked at Inuyasha he had his head tilted to the side when he asked.

"Because he's the only family I have left. He's the only chance I have of a life."

'What about your mother?"

Kagome looked away but kept walking. I thought she wasn't going to answer and I was gonna go to chase a butterfly when she kinda whispered her story.

"Mother and I lived in a cottage that was tucked into some woods. The woods were named after my mother and the nearby villagers always came to our house for healing toxins and such. My mother was very good with herbs and healing." Kagome paused to take a breath, and though Inuyasha was ahead of us his ears were pointed back to Kagome.

"Though my mother was an enchantress, the villagers were too grateful towards her to report her existence to the lord of the land.

This lord was cruel and unjust; he did take care of his land because he did not want any blemishes. But if a village was diseased he would send his select few soldiers out to slaughter the entire village and erase the memory of it ever being there."

'He killed whole villages, even if the disease could be cured?'

"Yes, like I said, he was cruel. Actually, the village near us was right in sight of the mountain the lord's keep stood on.

My mother had lived in those woods since she had wandered away from the home where her own mother lived, without any trouble with the lord.

But one day..."

'He sent out his scavengers to kill her off and erase all memories of her.'

Me and Kagome stared ahead where Inuyasha was walking, I figured he had already heard the story or something.

'He killed your mother?'

"Yes. A traveler that had been going through the village heard some girls talking about my mother being an enchantress. Those girls didn't like me or mother and made all sorts of nasty things up about us.

Well, turns out that the traveler had been a spy combing through the country side to make sure the lord's subjects were all behaving. When the lord heard of mother he sent out those soldiers of his to kill her.

I wasn't at the cottage when they attacked; my mother had sent me out in the morning to collect herbs for her. During the day I felt my mother send out a powerful protector spell to me, this was strange for my mother to do it.

So I ran back to the cottage only to see it charred and burning."

Kagome's voice was low and it almost sounded like she was going to kill something.

"I found my mother's body among the remains of my home. All that my mother left in this world was that body and this ring!" Hot angry tears fell from Kagome's eyes.

"That night I slept in a tree, and the next day I met Inuyasha."

'Inuyasha, can we take a break? My feet hurt!'

He nodded.

"Thanks, Shippo."

I raised my head and started to run around with my nose up and eyes closed. Which I found out wasn't a good idea.

'Hey, runt, why is your nose stuck in between those roots?'

'Why me?!'

###

What now? Kagome told me and Shippo her story; shouldn't we answer some of her questions?

'Runt, come here.'

The little ball of fluff ran over to me.

'What?'

So I told the fox my plan.

###

"Kagome?"

I looked down to the disguised Shippo, "Hmm?"

"Well...Inuyasha was wondering if you had any questions for him since you told us your story and answered our questions and-."

Inuyasha had come to Shippo and hit him on the head.

"OW! That hurt!"

"Inuyasha, apologize!"

He mumbled something and turned his now human-ish back towards me. I sighed, who could be more stubborn than this oaf.

Should I ask him something about himself? Or maybe about wolves?

"Can I ask if dogs can disguise themselves?"

Inuyasha tilted his head back and turned sideways to me.

"If you're going to ask things like that then I have to start from the very beginning. But it could take a while. Maybe even a few days," he cast a sideways look at me.

I nodded to urge him to go on with it.

He closed his eyes, took a breath and started the story.

"In the beginning there was the Great Spirit, a deity who was neither man nor woman. The Great Spirit first created the earth then, growing tired of gazing at an empty landscape from it's palace above the clouds, decided to make new beings.

He molded them from the moon's tears, the stone's strength and a drop of blood from the Great Spirit itself.

This being was the wolf and from it came man, dog, fox and coyote. Each having their own strengths and weaknesses. The Great Spirit wanted its children to live together with each other and the land in harmony, so he gave each a disguise to make it easier to do so."

"Even the human?"

He opened his eyes a bit to look at me, "Yes, the human was given a disguise so he would be able to look like a mix between the four others."

"Okay, but why can't humans do that anymore?"

"The human didn't want to think of himself like an animal. He refused to use the disguise or interact with the others. The Great Spirit asked the human why he did this; the human replied by saying that he was obviously a more civilized being and didn't want the disguise.

The Great Spirit was heart broken when he heard that, but because he loved the human he gave him his desire to be separated from his brethren."

"So humans can't disguise themselves as...umm mixes anymore?"

"My mother once told me a legend that if a human is bitten by a wolf that has...pure intentions that the Great Spirit gives the disguise back to the human. But it's just a legend."

"That was interesting, but you never answered my question."

"Yeah, maybe after dinner. Which reminds me."

I watched as his body shortened and his face grew narrow and sleek. This process probably should have seemed disturbing, but to me it was almost like some kind of strange dance.

'You make the fire; I'm gonna go catch something.'

"It's weird isn't it?"

"What is Shippo?"

"How everything was made from wolves. Does that mean that we're all made the same?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure. This is the first time I've ever heard a story that involved a deity that wasn't what the priests from Rome referred to as God. I'm not sure if I can really believe all this."

Shippo put his tiny hands on my wrist, "How can you not believe Inuyasha? I don't think he's lying."

"Neither do I, Shippo."

###

"Are you gonna tell the rest now?"

Shippo jumped on top of my head and lazily chewed on it. I could feel my eyebrow twitch.

"OW! Do you always have to do that?"

I lowered my fist and calmly tried to start where I left off.

"A few centuries after the making of the first beings, a direct descendant of the first dog broke a rule of the disguise. The Great Spirit came to the dog and was planning on punishing him with an eternity in solitude, but when the Great Spirit saw that the dog wasn't putting up a fight or trying to say that he hadn't broken the rules-."

"Wait, what rules?"

"When the humans had populated the earth, many put on their disguises and...umm" Inuyasha's face was light pink and he was rubbing the back of his head, "Anyways, this resulted in a lot of half human half animal beings. The Great Spirit finally got so disgusted of what the animals were doing that he took all the half-breeds and threw them in a giant hole in the earth.

Some of those half-breeds were little kids and babies. The parents of those mourned and mourned, and finally their tears convinced the Great Spirit that perhaps what it had done was wrong.

The Great Spirit took back all the half-breeds it had thrown in, but instead of setting them back on earth, the Great Spirit took them to live in the clouds. This way they could still live but it would teach the animals a lesson."

"Then the Great Spirit made the rules?"

"Yeah, there were seven."

"What are they?"

Me and Shippo looked at each other and recited the rules together, child voice and rough voice joining in an eerie chorus.

"Rule one; lust and thou shall burn in the depths of earth.

Rule two; pretend and damnation shall be for thee.

Rule three; deceive and life shall be taken.

Rule four; touch and thou suffering shall be eternal.

Rule five; cry and thou tears shall drown thee.

Rule six; create and mourning shall be thy master.

Rule seven; love and thy love shall be thy killer.

Remember,

Remember,

These seven golden rules,

If thou forsakes me,

Thou shall suffer dearly,

Remember,

Remember."

Our voices died down and the night was unnaturally silent, the forest had been listening to the words almost forgotten to it.

"What do some of those mean?" Kagome's eyes were wide and her mouth hung open a bit.

"The first should be pretty obvious, the second says pretend. Pretend means to act like a human. Three means to deceive a human, four means to touch a human in a tainted way. Six means to have a kid with a human as in create a half breed. Seven's pretty obvious."

"What's at the end? The poem thing?"

"It's a warning. Father told me that." Shippo said this while jumping into Kagome's lap.

"Oh...So when are you-." Kagome's mouth widened as a yawn escaped from its depths, which then made Shippo yawn.

"When we stop next. But we should try to get to the base of those mountains by nightfall tomorrow."

If we're lucky it won't be snowing and the elk will be going through the passes too. And that elk meat is goooood

"Good night, Inuyasha."

"Feh."

###

Three wolves trudged through the snow laden valley, their huge paws making clear imprints on the fresh snow.

The wolves had been following the herd of elk, just like all the other years. This time however the wolves had been delayed for five nights. The leader of the other two had had his time of vulnerability, unannounced as usual. During those five nights the elk hadn't stopped, they kept moving to avoid the fast approaching snows that they could feel coming.

'I haven't seen the elk since two nights ago, Kouga. Shouldn't we turn around before we starve to death?'

'We ain't goin' back.' The growl came from the depths of the wolf's chest, deep and commanding.

One wolf decided to push his luck, 'But what about the snows further up?'

Kouga stopped, his hair was on end and his body stiff.

"You wanna stop? Go ahead, let's see how long you last when your five nights come, Ginta."

Ginta sweat dropped and let the subject drop. Kouga smirked.

"Thought you'd see it my way."

###

I was tempted to start whistling again but remembered how Inuyasha had exploded on me earlier for it. But this walk was so boring!

Shippo was sleeping in a pocket of my haori, Inuyasha was walking ahead and I got stuck in the rear with an annoying bee buzzing around and around my head.

Buzz buzzzzzzz buzz

Why didn't I eat some of that rabbit when Inuyasha offered it?

A mental image or the torn and blood dripping rabbit carcass flashed through my head.

Oh yeah.

After walking a bit more, with the bee still by me, I was starting to feel light headed. I vaguely noticed that I was slowing down.

Buzz buzzzzzzz buzz

That stupid bee, why won't it leave?

I swiped at it and missed horribly. Irritated, I tried again, harder this time. Still, I missed.

Buzz buzzzzzzz buzz

That buzzing was mocking me. I couldn't stand it anymore! I swiped at it with all my strength, only to forget that Shippo was sleeping in my haori. His extra weight threw me off balance and I felt myself hit dirt while I heard a small thud nearby where Shippo fell. I closed my eyes when the force of the fall created a headache for me.

I smirked in satisfaction as I opened my hand. I felt the bee's body slip through my fingers.

I have been spending too much time with Inuyasha.

###

When I woke up, I felt my headache come stronger than before. A small moan escaped me.

I felt a wet cloth on my forehead and what I supposed was Inuyasha's hand tilt my head up. He pressed something against my mouth.

"Drink this wench."

I opened my mouth to reprimand him but instead got a mouth full of freezing cold water. I coughed as it forced its way down my throat.

"Dammit."

Rough fabric wiped away the water that had splattered out of my mouth. I was still laying on something and I hadn't opened my eyes yet. But whatever I was laying on was comfortable, so I snuggled closer to it.

"Sit up, you have to eat this."

Once again, Inuyasha's voice pervaded into my head, even while it was pounding painfully. But I sat up as best I could while slowly opening my eyes and propping myself up against what I thought was a tree.

When I opened my eyes it was pitch black and I panicked.

"Oh gods, I'm blind! No, no, no. This can't be-."

"You're not blind; it's the middle of the night."

After that realization hit me I tried focusing on the one source of light that there was, the moon. It gave just enough light to let me see Inuyasha kneeling beside me with a small bowl full of something.

When did he get that bowl?

"Here."

He reached out his hand to me. I couldn't see exactly what he was holding but it was very small and thin.

"What is it?"

Saying those few words increased the strain on my exhausted brain and increased the pain of my headache. Which made me let out another little moan.

He sighed and leaned over to put it up to my mouth.

He just expects me to eat this mysterious thing?

Despite feeling suspicious I let him put it in. It tasted like an onion covered in salt, hair, grass and something I couldn't place.

When I tried to spit it out and scrape my tongue off, Inuyasha covered my mouth and nose so I couldn't breathe. So, I painstakingly swallowed the disgusting stuff and blew air into his hand.

I could barely see him moving his hand around and I think he wiped it off on something.

"What was that?" My voice surprised me; it was dry and hoarse, as if I had been screaming for a long time.

"Stuff that helps with headaches and fevers, you better drink some more water."

I shook my head, "Where's Shippo?"

"By your legs."

I looked down and sure enough, a tiny curled up ball of fluff was tucked up under the...blankets?

"Where did you get the-." A fit of coughs interrupted me, "Blankets?"

"Some idiot with a cart full of junk didn't see it fall off. You better go to sleep, 'cause if you're not better by tomorrow then we can't start traveling through the mountain valleys."

Before he even finished I had dropped down and was beginning to doze off. But there was still something that I needed to hear before I fell asleep.

"Inuyasha?"

'What wench?'

"Why did you come with me?"

My ears were greeted by silence and Shippo's even breaths.

Guess that's too much for him to answer. I should've known.

'Because I needed someone.'

My eyes widened as I realized what he was saying.

He needed me? The big strong dog-wolf needed _me_?

That soothed my frayed nerves as nothing else could. I gently moved Shippo up into my arms and fell asleep with a smile.

###

That's it for now. And Kagome's just exhausted which is why she got sick. In the next chappie they will start going into the mountains! Yay!

By the way, I forgot who asked but, yes Sango and Miroku will be in this story.

Happy reading!-


	6. The Youth of Tragedy

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Wolf's Rain or Rowan Hood.I am sorry for the delay and such but my brother deleted all my files on the computer I saved this stuff on and I had to rewrite what he deleted. It sucked and sux. I was almost done with this chapter before he deleted everything. Which included all the pictures I had that helped describe things. Okay, most of the italics and such probably won't work. You can blame my laziness for not trying to fix every little problem...but you'll have more fun blaming quickedit.  
(sigh) Nothin' to do about it I guess.  
Happy clucking-

* * *

That night I stayed awake, making sure Kagome was warm enough. I wouldn't make a fire in case some stray villager or a traveler saw it and came to investigate. After all, there was a fairly large village nearby that was probably teeming with humans.  
Still, what if they have a healer or someone else who can help the wench?  
When I sat and thought about it, it did seem like a good idea...  
I got up, shook out my head and went to check out the village from the edge of the little woods.

* * *

_  
Everything was blurry and shaded amber. As if to mock my beliefs in what my mother had told me.  
The wind felt so pleasant and cool, like Celandine's hand, and the things I could smell were exotic. But as good as it felt and smelt I knew nothing was as it seemed, there was a strange sound in the distance that was so familiar. Just like that other time.  
So I tried to run to it this time, but I was being held by thousands of transparent hands and they either wouldn't let go or couldn't.  
"I will not kill him!"  
"Silly girl."  
I heard the sound clearly, it was a low mournful howl. But it had no meaning behind it as I listened and screamed. It was fading inch by inch anyways, settling to the back of my conscious and I realized that only a dream could be so...so odd.  
"Inuyasha."  
Yes, as odd as him._

* * *

I trotted up a small hill so I could overlook the village, it wasn't impressive.  
The village was tiny and rundown, only a few huts had doors or roofs anymore. There were no people to be seen, but then again it was night. Though who would want to sleep in one of those huts was beyond me. I glanced at the village once more before deciding to leave and caught sight of a thin trail of smoke.  
I jumped off the hill and tried to see where the smoke was coming from, from ground level.  
It seemed that some bandits or something had raided the village and killed everyone then camped off the edge of it. They didn't sound too happy for their victory.  
Better avoid that way for the runt's and the wench's sake.  
I ran back to the camp, everyone still seemed to be sleeping.  
'Inuyasha...'  
Shippo's voice came from within the depths of crumpled blankets, sleepy and subdued.  
'What?'  
I sat and waited for the runt to answer but all I heard was shifting and quiet mumbling. He finally talked after poking his head out.  
'I'm hungry. Can you make some poppy seed tea?'  
'Tea? Since when do foxes drink tea?'  
'Mother always made it for me, and then I always felt better. Maybe it'd help Kagome...'  
The runt wants tea, we're in the middle of some forest, there are unhappy bandits nearby, Kagome's sick and I'm expected to know how to make tea! Nothing good could come out of me going to get tea stuff...but maybe it would help the wench get better. Than we could get as far away from here as possible.  
I stood to go get the seeds and stuff.  
'Fine, but watch Kagome.'  
'Kay.'

* * *

As soon as Inuyasha left I ducked my head back into the blankets where it was warm. I knew that I was supposed to watch over Kagome and the camp but...I was tired!  
'Oh well, it isn't like anyone is going to bother us here.'  
"Wrong, little man."  
'Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Inuyasha! Help! Help!'  
I jumped up, dragging the blankets with me and barking, leaving Kagome wiping the sleep from her eyes. I ran as fast as I could toward Inuyasha's scent.  
'Help Inuyasha!'

* * *

I woke up again, but this time there were no warm, soft blankets covering me and no Shippo by my feet. But there was someone in front of me, some kind of woman...?  
"Such fine clothes for such a poor boy. I believe I shall take them."  
My eyes still weren't completely adjusted to the dim light but I did manage to stand up. Then I stepped to the side a bit, just barely getting away from the giant double-headed ax this person was swinging around.  
The person swung it sideways at me, I tried stepping backwards but fell over my own feet and landed on some roots that were sticking straight out of the ground. One root was fairly hardened and I'm almost positive it bruised my leg when I fell on it.  
Where's Inuyasha?  
I shook my head and dove to the side as the man, I think, plunged his ax deep into the ground.  
Yes! No way he's going to be able to get that thing out now!  
The man didn't even try to get the ax free, he just stood and waited with it in his hands. The ax shone red and gave off strange pulses through the ground that I could feel, then it shuddered and gave off a shower of red hot embers that sizzled by my hands.  
The man grinned and he squeezed the handle just a little bit, the ax rumbled with the small squeeze and started pulsing quickly. I started backing farther away when I could see the energy coursing through the air and conflicting with my own. Unluckily I backed right into some bandit and he grabbed hold of my hoari while getting out a long dagger.  
What are these guys gonna do to me?  
"Relax, the boss just wants to show you a good time. So enjoy the show." The bandit's hot, rancid breath fell upon my ear, I couldn't control the shudder that passed through my body.  
I hope that this disguise is working and that they don't know that I'm a girl. Or else I don't want to know what they'll do to me...  
"Watch now, little man. The forest will be ablaze with fire and all those within shall burn!"  
Shippo, Inuyasha. I've got to do something...  
"Ah, here it comes. You watchin'?"  
The bandit held onto me tighter and his dagger hilt pressed into my arm, I tried to wriggle away but he gripped me tighter until he finally stuck his dagger blade in front of my face.  
"Jus' hold still."  
The man with the ax began laughing and raised his giant blade from the earth with ease and got ready to ignite the forest. Everyone stood still with smiles on their grimy faces, I wished I could burn them.  
Instead I took this small chance and elbowed the bandit holding me then I sprinted at the ax man. But the bandit wouldn't let me go that easily and threw his dagger at me. It went so fast I could hear the whoosh it made as it flew at me.  
"Kagome, move!"  
I looked up at the familiar red clad figure who had just jumped through the clearing edge, then I heard a disgusting sucking sound. I glanced down to see the tip of the bandit's dagger showing through my clothes, right through my stomach.  
It...went through me.  
I was blank, nothing seemed real anymore, especially not the searing pain in my middle.  
"Boss! Help me! There's a wolf!"  
I closed my eyes and laid down, various roots prodded me but I didn't want to think of the pain anymore. So I stopped thinking and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Stupid, stupid, stupid.  
Leaving Shippo to watch Kagome! Am I that much of a pup to not know what to expect?  
As I ran I put on my disguise, which didn't feel as bad as I thought it would, with Shippo running beside me in his natural form.  
"Oi, runt, it was only humans, right?"  
'I don't know...maybe.'  
I looked down at the fluffy fox, his head was bobbing up and down every time he took another sprint.  
"Too slow, get on."  
He huffed a little but jumped onto my shoulders then crawled up to my head. His small claws dug into my scalp, though he didn't seem to care.  
Finally I could sense Kagome's energy floating from nearby, along with some deep, hot energy that was making my hair sizzle.  
'Inuyaaasha, I'm hot. Where's Kagome? I thought you were supposed to know where you're mate was at all times. And that you never left them. Father never left mother, or me. But then again, you and Kagome aren't allowed-.'  
"Shut up."  
And I picked him up and threw him as far as I could, so he could land just beyond the clearing. Before I threw him, though, I shoved his tea stuff into his mouth.  
Stupid runt, always being stupid and demanding.  
I picked up speed when I could smell the foul stench of bandits mixed in with Kagome's own faint scent.  
Crap.  
When I jumped out of the forest edge and into the clearing, I saw something that set my blood ice cold. Kagome was running at a bandit who had a giant ax, while some bandit behind her threw a dagger at her. I barely heard myself scream at her to move, panic invading my thoughts.  
Just before the dagger hit her I saw her look at me and smile, I wished I could get her away in time. I would have no such luck, the dagger hit her in the stomach and one disgusting vermin actually laughed.  
"That's it, you fuckin' bastard. You die now."  
With that I slashed that thing with a swipe of my claws, reveling in the sheer brute joy it gave me. Blood sprayed over everything as I hacked up bandit after bandit, making my way towards where Kagome had fallen down. Soon I had a small circle cleared around her.  
'Kagome!'  
Shippo's voice was even more high pitched than usual with sobs threatening to choke him.  
At least he escapes the rules by being a kid.  
The man with the giant ax stepped forward, he was obviously a human but how he could lift that heavy thing was beyond me. But I didn't dwell on this long as he started talking in a feminine voice that resembled...his voice.  
"Ahh, it is good to see such a wolf. I have not had the time to look for wolves lately, I did so miss those tasty haunches. And I do so need more pelts to keep myself warm, good pelts are so hard to find. I am sure that the fox would agree."  
The man flicked his eyes to where Shippo was trying to shake Kagome awake.  
"And the woman...I am sure that she would love to have a pelt to drape around her shoulders. And a strong husband along with that."  
His gaze lingered on Kagome a bit too long, causing my blood to spark and burn fiercely.  
"Don't you dare look at her, filthy bastard."  
The man didn't seem to care about my threat. He smirked with something strange glinting in his eyes.  
"Filthy, am I? At least I have true blood running through me, my parents were no desperate whores that mixed species."  
My eyes must have widened noticeably because the man smirked even more, "Wondering about something, dog-wolf?"  
'Kagome, wake up! You aren't dead! You can't be!'  
Kagome, I have to get her away.  
"You shouldn't let yourself be distracted so easily, it could get you killed."  
I just moved quickly enough to avoid the man's swing, but not far enough away to leave Kagome and Shippo exposed.  
"Ah, so you won't be killed by simply swinging the blade at you, energy must be used. Or perhaps threats work better towards you."  
The man held up one hand and signaled two men from the back of group with a finger. The two bandits were more filthy than the others and one looked like he could have leprosy, and both had faces painted dark purple with their grimy shortened hair died dark brown, like the color of dried blood.  
Between them they held a small, pathetic figure, a girl that couldn't have been much older than Shippo. She was pale as fresh snow, had heavy pale blonde locks that reached to mid-back and dark brown eyes that seemed empty but also so full. I couldn't quite explain it, she was different.  
But as weak as she looked to be, the bandits had placed heavy manacles on her ankles and odd hide gloves that were tied together at the elbows. As for the rest of her, all she had was a thin, ankle length dress that was worn even thinner but surprisingly clean.  
"She is a human enchantress, perfectly intact. She has much more energy than you can comprehend, simple as you are. She could easily kill that bitch of yours, would you like to see the flesh stripped from her body or would you be my pet? Come now, it is an easy answer."  
My fists clenched and I felt my pulse beating stronger and faster until my eyes started clouding over with rage. The man kept talking of how he could kill us with his toy enchantress, she, however, made no motions to kill us.  
"You'll die...for this..."  
"Go and try then, half-breed. No one can beat the great Gatenmaru!"  
As he said this he raised his ax and waited there for me to go after him, casually with a semi serious expression on his somewhat familiar face. Almost like...  
"Frightened are we?"  
I raised my eyes, inch by inch so as not to awaken my wolf blood anymore, but my eye sight was getting no less clouded and my blood was still rushing around and around. With my eyes my hand rose too, the sharp points of my claws glinting in the early dawn light.  
"Ah, so you want to fight. Then come hit me," his eyes narrowed and his mouth grew wider, "we shall see the might of a half breed."  
So you want to see my might? Fine, then.  
I swung straight at this 'Got-ten-ma-you', he held up his ax with a bored expression expecting me to hit the thing and back off, I didn't.  
When I hit the blunt side of the thick ax I didn't slump down in defeat or even try a different move. I just forced as much power into that one hand as possible, suspended above the air by sheer force.  
"Give this up, you will surely break your limb before you break my ax. And I am sure you would like to get this done with quickly, that woman of yours appears to be dying, dog-wolf."  
He looked like he was confident enough, but something in his tone seemed like he was hiding... We held our positions.  
Then a small, resounding 'crack' echoed through my head. My arm had just broken. And by the man's smirk I could tell he had heard it also.  
Crap...can't stop...  
"As I told you-"  
He was interrupted by another cracking noise, this time it came from his ax. A thin crack, no wider than a hair, had appeared running down the length and many more cracks formed around the first. His smirk disappeared.  
"Told me what?"  
He didn't answer, he knew he was defeated as soon as the cracking sound grew in volume until the ax split into many smaller pieces. My arm might have been broken and this hadn't killed the man but my wolf blood surging even faster at this small victory.  
"Die, Gatenmaru."  
A voice had come from all around, and from no where at all. It was cold and uncaring, smooth as silk. But with it the man in front of me withered, his face becoming hollow and bony, his body thinning until it was only bones. Then his skin was pulled to its limit and ripped to reveal the bones underneath. One of his eyes shriveled up and the other rolled away lopsidedly and stopped near the ring of bandits.  
The bandits looked down at the single eye, that was seemingly staring at them, and broke into a fast run. Towards me. With knives, spears, rusty swords and crude clubs.  
I guess they're angry...

* * *

I watched silently from my spot on the ground where the bandits had thrown me, my side hurt from the impact but the pain would pass as did everything else. But what I watched was something that I had never known before, bravery.  
My mother had been powerful and calm as the summer winds, but never brave. This wolf showed such loyalty to the two others, and he fought with bravery knowing that he may not win.  
If only I could be like him, brave and loyal to the end without questioning the will of others. But how?  
The wolf fought with the bandits, making sure none of them came near the two weak ones that he was protecting. I tried to see how he could stand and fight so easily, I think I stared a bit too hard because his image suddenly flickered.  
One moment he was a black and white wolf, then he was a strange looking human with silver hair. I rubbed my eyes and vainly tried to see clearly, still his image flickered. The bandits seemed to have noticed this also and shied away from his menacing figure.  
"What's the matter, scared?"  
His voice, it's more of a...growl than a voice. Is that what happens when you're being brave?  
Then the bandits all but trampled me in their haste to get away from the wolf, one bandit kicked my stomach with his slate-toed boot. It added to the pain but I tried to act like the wolf and didn't show my pain, to be brave.  
I glanced up to see the wolf looking at me, his golden eyes were nearly clouded over but he spoke to me clearly, "Guess you're pretty brave to not run away like those bastards did, girl."  
He thinks I'm brave, that must make it so. I don't think someone so brave could ever lie.  
"Gonna say anythin', girl? Or are you mute?"  
"Th-thank you. I...could you..."  
I lifted my hands, hesitantly, trying to make him understand that if he wanted help I would need help getting my bonds off. Instead of being insulted by the gesture and turning away he came forward to me, limping on one of his forepaws.  
"Lift your hands."  
I did as he said and caught sight of a small but deep gash running from his left ear down to the curve of his mouth, blood was slowly leaking onto the dry earth.  
Blood wounds must also be a part of being brave.  
He promptly sliced through the heavy chains, setting my feet free, then, just as swiftly, sliced the bonds from my arms. Then he turned and walked back to the two others who had remained silent, once by them his image flickered to his human image and he picked the girl up and held her to his chest.  
"Get on runt," he shifted his eyes back to me, "You too girl."  
I nodded then ran over, tripping over my feet and ending up grabbing the wolf's long hair to keep me from falling.  
"Hey!"  
Sensing the anger in his voice I bowed low to the ground before climbing onto his back with a small boy that had fox legs. I didn't talk to him only because he was crying and I didn't know what to say. Soon he stopped crying and only sniffled a bit and he looked at me.  
"Hello."  
He just stared at me.  
Did I say something wrong? Maybe there are some kind of important customs that I don't know about. What if he's a prince and is angry at me for talking to him and now wants to chop off my head or...  
"Hi."  
We stared at each other, then I opened my mouth to say something but my stomach growled loudly. I quickly looked down at the wolf's back.  
"Excuse me, please."  
"You hungry, girl?"  
The wolf's voice scared me and I jumped, then nodded my head.  
"Can you...heal her?"  
I looked over his shoulder at the girl he was holding, nearly gasping.  
A dagger was sticking through her stomach with a dark coating of blood around it, her face was the color of mine by now, white, and it didn't look like she was breathing.  
How can I heal a dead person?  
_Do this, Kanna. You will be able to. Then you will travel with this pack, until you come back to me, my daughter._  
"Yes I can."

* * *

_Everyone is running away, their feet pound on the hard packed road of the village, but the bandits still come. The bandits have horses and easily cut off the villagers' escape path. Then they brandish their weapons and laugh as they slay the innocent. Others set fire to the village after taking what they want.  
One woman slips away, her face is smeared and I can't make it out, but I can see her holding a small girl in her arms. She's running away from the death, she looks calm but I can see through her facade. She's scared.  
I want to reach out and comfort her but I know I'm not part of what I'm seeing, I'm only an observer.  
The woman makes it to the woods but stops as if she knows I'm watching. She turns to face me and says something I can't hear. But I could see her lips move. She said one thing.  
"Awake."_

* * *

Again, I was waking up with the small comfort of warmth surrounding me. I tried to shift closer to the warmth but a sharp, restricting pain in my stomach made me stop. My hand reached down to feel the spot.  
Instead of the thick fabric of my hoari, I felt a much lighter material that was much like my old dress that I had had while living with my mother.  
Why do I feel so terrible? Why can't I remember anything? Slow down, Kagome. One thing at a time.  
I slowly tried opening my heavy lidded eyes. After a minute or two of convincing them to open, my eyes obeyed.  
It was dark and for that I was glad, my head was already throbbing and I didn't need a bright light shining in my eyes to make it hurt more. The warmth was a heavy quilt thrown on top of me, the darkness was because of a low wall that separated the room and shielded me from the light.  
Where...where am I?  
"Inuyasha?"  
It was silent for a moment and I suddenly got very scared. I thought that the bandits had captured me or-or maybe someone had found me after the battle. And that could mean that...Inuyasha could've been killed.  
"What wench?"  
His voice seemed almost unreal, I could barely believe that he was right there, just on the other side of the wall. I could feel the lump in my throat get bigger as I tried to swallow it.  
"Where are we?"  
"Feh, the girl can tell you that."  
Girl?  
I heard the door flap being lifted and the soft tread of someone's feet. The fact that I couldn't move my head frustrated me. And the fact that some stranger had been taking care of me.  
"You are an enchantress?"  
She didn't sound very old, though the way her tongue lingered on each word made me almost believe that it was my mother speaking to me. My mother had also said things slowly, so she wouldn't slip up. I'd never picked up that trait.  
I realized that I hadn't answered the girl's question but when I opened my mouth to answer, the girl interrupted.  
"Excuse me, perhaps that is too personal, Milady?"  
Milady? Since when was I royalty?  
"Erm, no. It's fine. But my name is Kagome, not Milady."  
"Excuse me, once more, Kagome."  
"Alright...So, who are you?"  
I found myself practically dreading her answer. But why, I didn't know.  
"My name is Kanna, Kagome."  
I tried to sit up to look at the girl because so far all that I'd seen of her was her shadow. She was currently sitting behind me doing something with some cloth by the sound of it. I wasn't strong enough to lift myself up and I ended up laying back down on the cot with a small wince of pain.  
"You must not move, yet. You will open your wound and if you do not heal right, you will have a scar there. And, if you excuse my saying so, you have such beautiful skin."  
"Thank you. But, I was just wondering, could I see what you look like, Kanna?"  
I heard her give a small gasp and drop something before rushing to stand in front of me. The faint light that shone over the low wall seemed to focus solely on her.  
"You aren't very old, are you?"  
It was a stupid question, just by looking at her I could tell she was young. Probably not even ten autumns old.  
She was so thin and pale, like parchment. She was wearing a tight looking white dress, but no shoes or coats or hats or even socks. Her face was tight, like she had never laughed before and her eyes had dark circles underneath. Her eyes were such a deep brown that a person could easily be drowned in them, but they weren't a kid's eyes. Shippo had eyes that were full of innocence and playfulness, and trust. But Kanna had eyes that had seen horrible things and they seemed to be strangers to fun. There was one thing in her eyes, hope. For that I took an immediate liking to this girl.  
"I do not think so. Though, I am at least nine winter's old."  
She looked away in embarrassment at my gaze.  
"Inuyasha?"  
I heard a mumbled sentence about something or other.  
"Can you walk?"  
What if he can't? What if he's so badly injured that he can't move?  
"Ya, wench. What do you want?"  
"Can you get me something to drink? And tell Shippo to find Kanna something to wear, please."  
"Oh no, Kagome, I'll-."  
I gave her a look that, I hoped, told her to stay put. She kept quiet, seemingly understanding what I was trying to signal, and began to fiddle with more of those bandages. On the other side of the miniature wall Inuyasha's grunt and the sound of his heavy footsteps leaving confirmed that he was gone.  
"Were you at the fight?"  
"Yes..."  
"Can you tell me what happened?"  
She scooted on the floor till she was sitting at my side. Her head was bowed and her hands firmly clasped in her lap.  
"Yes, but it is not pleasant. Not for me." Kanna drew in a long ragged breath, "The bandits had captured me a long time ago and I was forced to follow them where they went. They were pathetic bandits, and only managed to kill so many people with their leader. He was strong."  
"And evil. And everywhere you went you saw killing. Right?"  
Kanna stared at me, she didn't seem like such a polite girl anymore. Maybe I struck something?  
"Gatenmaru was not evil."  
"But he killed so many people and laughed when he was about to burn the forest."  
There was a dark fire behind Kanna's eyes when I said that. It looked like she was about to jump me.  
"He was only trying to scare the wolf out. He was not going to burn the forest. He only killed because it was all he knew! If he had ever once been shown kindness and love he would have been called brave not cruel!"  
Wow, she really must have liked this bandit to defend him so strongly. Well, might as well try to tell her that he wasn't as good as she thought he was.  
"He chose how he would be and act, if he wanted to be good then he would have been that way. If he truly was strong he would have done what he wanted to do in his heart."  
"He was strong! And he took care of me and you can't understand what it's like to not have anyone! You always have the wolf and the fox! I have no one!"  
While part of me wanted to reach out and comfort the girl, another part wanted to show her how wrong she was and correct her and make her sorry for what she had said.  
"How dare you! I know exactly what it's like to be alone! Believe it or not my mother was killed and I was alone!"  
After I said it I calmed down and reached towards Kanna. She was sitting there with a tight mouth and trying to look angry, but her eyes were quickly filling with tears. When I reached for her she pulled away.  
"I haven't always had someone there to watch out for me. I loved my mother but that didn't stop the girls from the village from pushing me around. I know that those girls were next to nothing compared to some people out here, but that didn't make me feel any better.  
"I have no idea what you could have been going through. It's been hard on you. Even I can see that. What happened?"  
She sat there, unmoving with her lips pressed together. There was a 'ticking' sound from somewhere in the rafters but I dismissed it as being a bird or something. Time passed as I waited for Kanna to tell me at least one thing about her life. All was silent other than the ticking.  
Even Inuyasha is more talkative than this... what could have happened to her, I wonder?  
"Well, as long as you aren't going to talk, why don't you go help Shippo? Then you two can go play," Kanna started to get up and leave, "One last thing! Would you get me some different clothes?"  
The girl nodded then left with a flip of her bangs.  
'Tick'  
If mother was here, I'd be running around getting my own clothes.  
'Tick'  
Of course, if she hadn't been killed, I'd still be at the village. Being teased and sneered at.  
'Tick'  
And I wouldn't have been able to see so many new places or people...  
'Tick'  
Then again, Shippo and Inuyasha aren't really people...Well, not human people at least. And Kanna isn't ordinary either.  
'Tick'  
I sighed and tried to roll myself over. No use. Another sigh came out. I raised my eyes to the ceiling, remembering the first time I had met them all.  
Kanna just now, Shippo back when I still didn't know Inuyasha's secret and Inuyasha...  
I had a strange nagging at the back of my mind. There was something missing.  
"Strange."  
A deafening cracking sound came flying through the room, as if the earth was breaking in half. It was the roof, I think, because something came through it and dropped beside me.  
A tiny blue-green orb.  
I felt a warm sensation and seemed to fall through the air into sweet lulling darkness.

* * *

YAY! I think this can satisfy everyone. It took forever but...actually I have no good excuse.-  
I came up with a new fic idea so I went with it, it should be posted soon enough. School actually inspired it so I guess going to school isn't completely pointless.  
I'm quite happy with myself for sticking with this one for so long though. And Feud of Love isn't totally forgotten, I just have a bit o' writer's blockage with that one at the moment. 


	7. Speech of the Prisoner

I let her get kidnaped again. She's probably so stressed out now that she'll have reopened her wound. This sucks.

I've proven to be about the worst companion and protector. At least I'm still better than Shippo...right?

So here I am, following the scent that was left in the blown apart building. Shippo's talking to that girl we found. They seem to be very _devastated_ that Kagome was kidnaped. But I can't _possibly_ imagine why.

Stupid kids.

All I could really tell from the scent was that it was a human who did it. Yup, just one. A woman. It was hard to find the scent since whatever made the building explode also covered all scents in or around the building with the sickeningly sweet smell of so many roses . But the woman was careless and dropped a piece of reddish armor.

"Say, Kanna, how come you're carrying those clothes?"

"Miss Kagome asked me to fetch them for her."

Sure is a devoted little girl.

A southerly wind blew in. It was warm in the increasingly colder climate here, but it held a chilling scent.

"W-what's that smell?"

I guess he is a fox.

"Listen, you two are going to hide in the trees. I'm going to keep going and I'll come back for you."

I set them down near the base of a tree. And took a long look at them. Shippo was scared, that was easy enough to see. Kanna looked...well she had a weird look on her face. Like she was having trouble deciding something.

"Head south if I'm not back by midnight tomorrow."

I turned on my heel and started off.

"Wait!"

Sure is a demanding little girl.

"I would like to come with you. Miss Kagome asked me to give her these clothes and I need to honor her. Also, you might not be able to come back for us after you have rescued Miss Kagome. It would be easier if we were closer to..."

I stayed silent. I didn't want her and Shippo to know where Kagome was being held at.

"...Um, where she is. It would be more practical. Please let us-."

"No."

I thought that Shippo would definitely back me.

"I think Kanna's right. Plus we can help you!"

Great, a fox wannabe and some little sorceress. We've got the best team ever.

"You aren't gonna give up?"

They shook their heads.

"Fine. But you have to promise not to die."

"You promise first."

My eyes must have widened. I could feel the air traveling across the moist deserts.

But...why should they care if I live or die? I've never done anything for them...

Scenes of killing Shippo's father's killer and freeing Kanna from the bandits came to mind.

Okay, but I've never been _nice_ to them. But still they would care for me. Kanna's already so devoted to this little group. It's amazing that only a little while ago I thought dying would be such a pleasure after being hunted for so long.

I'd still die without regret, but now it would be to save my...friends. When did I start thinking of them as friends instead of annoyances or companions? When did we start to become a family?

"Yeah, okay, I promise."

"Me too!"

"I promise."

And so we were settled. We would not die this time. Or perhaps any other time.

We had made a promise. And we would keep it to the very end. When we would no longer be able to keep that promise.

----

"Ya know...she does kinda look like da Chief."

"Naw...the Chief has brown hair! And those weird eyes."

"Plus he's a tan one."

"Fine! She don't look nothin' like da Chief! Jubeezus, ya'd think I'd get more respe't than this."

"What would you deserve it for, Masty? Worst grammar?"

"Oh, look at Mr. High 'n' mighty! Thinks he's da ruler or somethin'! Well, ya ain't Grefy! Ha!"

"My god, you are a moron!"

"Shuddup, you two. The Chief don't want nothing to happen to this girl. So just shuddup."

"A'ight a'ready! Jubeezus, Remy."

The girl stirred but didn't wake up.

"Lookie! She's havin' a dream."

"Shaddup!"

"My god."

----

_This time, everything was...grey. I was running, and I could smell something horrible. I turned a corner and there was a low building in front of me. It reeked of...fur? I crept inside and saw so many bodies, my family, no the family of whose body I was in was strung upon the walls. Mother, mate, children and the most horrific crime, Father. And there, also, was the pack. _

_I thought of the way my mother had nudged me awake when I was young, the way my mate had chewed on my fur as she slept and the way my children jumped all over me, licking and biting. My pack was my life, there was nothing left for me. Then Father. He was too worthy for this place, too powerful. _

_There was chuckling behind me, it sounded distorted, as if coming through water. I turned and there stood the killer_. _He grinned and said something._

"_Good puppy, I'm betting these are some people you know, huh?"_

_I left, leaving the man on the ground with a long narrow cut on his neck. _

"_I'll come back for you, my family."_

_---- _

I raised my hand to my head and tried to scratch it. My hand met with some resistance.

"Woah there, bugger. Relax. Your hand is pretty beat up from the ride here."

My eyes snapped open while the memory of what had happened came. There was a man kneeling by me with a wet rag, he was smiling.

"I'm Remy. I know who ya are, no need ta say it."

Remy was overly skinny. As if he didn't eat. There was a light stubble on his slightly pudgy face and a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. His eyebrows were thick but not bushy, his hair was cut almost to the scalp and was a brownish-red.

He got up and left the rag on my forehead which I did not appreciate. I didn't have a fever.

"Hey, Masty! Go an' get the Chief! She's up!"

"Jubeezus! I gotta do e'ryt'in'?"

"As long as ya're the one nearby!"

Remy grinned and sat down in the doorway. He didn't notice me looking at him, he was waving at someone that I couldn't see.

I wish this guy would tell me where I am. Or what happened. Maybe the building collapsed and Inuyasha had to take me to a village or something.

But what was that orb?

Remy suddenly jumped to his feet. He grinned but I thought he looked tense.

"She's right there, sir."

"Thank you, you can go."

I lay still. There seemed to be another man coming in, I couldn't see him very well. He took up most of the doorway. He glanced around the room before turning his head toward me.

"Ah, welcome home, little one."

What the? The man came closer and fell into a cross legged position. His hands were neatly folded behind his head.

"I was able to finally find you. I searched for you since the day I found out you were born. It was nearly impossible. But it almost seems as if you were looking for me as well, hmm?"

I tried to give him a weird stare to tell him I thought he was crazy, since my tongue seemed to have dried up in my mouth.

"I would have let you walk in on your own but you were injured so I wanted to have you escorted. Too bad I sent an amateur. But no worries, you're home and you'll be treated."

So Inuyasha hadn't brought me here, I was kidnaped. This wasn't good. It seemed I was no alone with some mental guy.

"I'm just so happy to have you home. It took me so long. And I never would have found you if that witch hadn't died."

Witch. He means mother.

"How dare you! You-"

A hand was clamped over my mouth. It smelled of sap, hide and sweat.

"Hush, you haven't heard the whole of it. I'm sure that woman told you so many lies, but you must believe only me." He leaned in close and I could finally see his face. High cheek bones, full lips, straight nose, thin eyebrows, sandy hair, almost brown skin but his eyes..."For I am your true father, believe me."

I would protested if his hand wasn't so firmly wedged over my mouth. He couldn't be the one who I had been looking for. He was...

He zoomed in closer, his eyes were huge. They were very light, almost white, and it seemed that they were neither a solid color nor a color sprinkled with another. His eyes had blue and brown, green and purple, they colors swirled together in a circle, lighter around the pupil and the edges and lighter in between.

"That witch stole you from me and his away where I could not find her. She thought that...Never mind. You're home, that's all that matters."

How he hadn't noticed I had been glaring at him through his talk was odd.

"Now, I'm sure you have many things to tell me of your life. Go on," He moved his hand away, "tell me it."

"You aren't my father. Mother told me my father was-"

"Oh darling, everything that witch said was false. She was a liar and she cursed people without second thought. She slew a horde of warriors with a snap of her fingers for telling her to move out of their way. She whispered deaths in her sleep, as if she thought she wielded the scythe of death herself. She..."

Mother. She could never do those things. She was my mother and nothing more. She was healer and she loved me.

I rolled onto my side, away from him. He kept speaking about her deeds but more slowly. His voice was deep and would have been comforting if it wasn't telling of all these evil things.

"She once threw a babe into a river thinking it was possessed. She gave a starving animal poison and burned it's body. She once..."

There was something within me that wanted to cry once more, for the supposed crimes of my mother. But there was a stronger something that nagged me about this man. He seemed so familiar.

"Who are you?"

There was a pause in his chronicle and, to my discomfort, he put his large hand on my hand.

"Your father. I already told you."

"But my father is Robin Hood. Not some guy in a village."

I started when he laughed. It was booming and I was pretty sure Inuyasha would be able to find the guy just by hearing the laugh, no matter if he was across the mountains or in the depths of a lake.

"My dear, I am Robin Hood. I would tell more of myself, but I should not bore you. I'm sure you know the tales of me."

"So, I'm in a village of bandits? Where are my friends?"

"Friends? I suppose you must have made friends back where the witch kept you but they're gone. The village was-"

"No, I meant Inuyasha, Shippo and Kanna. Where are they?"

"I'm sorry, darling, the village was-"

"They were traveling with me. They would have been near the hut somewhere."

"All your escort saw was an empty village and some meat with fur."

What does he mean by that? Did the person see Inuyasha bringing in some food or...what?

"Excuse me?"

"Hmm?"

I think he was getting tired of sitting in here with me. His hand was slowly sliding off my head and I could hear nervous noises behind me.

"What did you mean, 'meat with fur'?"

"Oh, that. That's just the term around here for wolves and such animals out there."

"But, you don't eat wolves...right?"

A chill had gone up my spine as he said wolves. But he must know that it wasn't wise to eat wolves, they would always come back for you in a pack.

"When times are hard. But we usually just store the meat we gather."

"Gather?"

How can you 'gather' meat. And why would any sensible person hunt wolves? For what reason?

I heard Robin sigh behind me and his hand fully slipped from my head.

"Yes. I'll show you tomorrow what I mean. I wish I could show a live demonstration but most of the animals have migrated over the mountains. So, you'll have to settle for second best."

He left after awhile. I lay still and thought of what he could be saying. What could have happened to my friends? They were the first to befriend me in such a long time. Did I lose them to some maniacal bandit?

Did I lose them to my father, who they had been helping me search for?

Instead of trying to figure things out, I took the easy way and forced myself to sleep.

----

'Oh man, where'd he disappear to?'

Everything around the two dots was white. Pure, simple white everywhere. No green, brown, grey, nothing. It was as if a blanket had been thrown over the mountain landscape. A freezing, bitter and wet blanket. The wolves were not thrilled to be in the midst of this without their leader.

'How should I know?'

'I wasn't asking you.'

'Then who were you asking? There isn't anyone else out here!'

The wolves growled and tried facing off. But they ended up huddling up together instead. They had recently dug a small space to free some snow from it. And they were not about to step out of it, freezing their paws, just to fight about Kouga.

'I don't think Kouga's coming back for us.'

'No, he's probably across the mountains by now.'

'All warm and sunny over there.'

'Deer running all over the place, just waiting to be eaten.'

The two sighed and leaned into each other. They made no move to leave, only stared into the desert of snow.

'Think we should get moving?'

'Probably.'

So, they finally lifted themselves and slowly wandered towards the pass. They hadn't realized that Kouga had been sleeping in a cave he found for the last couple of hours. But Kouga would catch up. He was always so fast for being an ordinary wolf.

----

Okay, I admit it. My tongue was flopping out of my mouth like a dog's. But I had reason for it.

I was on a dangerous mission to find Kagome.

Okay, Inuyasha stuffed me into a knothole and expected me to hear about where Kagome was. But it was small in here and I was too warm in my fur.

I guess Inuyasha, with his limited thinking space had never thought of putting me in the tree's branches. It even had a plentiful amount of pine needles to shield me from view. And it would be so much cooler up there.

I could see a few people, but they couldn't see me, very luckily. There was a man planting something in a patch of dirt, a woman peeling corn and someone tied to a pole.

That someone was a woman. Her black hair was tied into a high bun and she was sitting up pretty straight. She was wearing...umm, some kind of brown dress type thing. It was pretty beat up but at least it came down to her ankles. She _w_as sitting cross-legged.

And that's all that I could see. She was facing away from me.

No one really came around this spot, but I had to wait for Inuyasha to come back and get me, I couldn't move otherwise.

"...Yeah, da chief seems in a gooder mood taday. Watcha ya thank?"

Finally there came voice. And another one too.

"He looked plenty happy going in. Not so much coming out."

This talk isn't helping.

And then I saw two people walk over to the pole. One was a tall blonde, I couldn't see him too well, him being so far away, he was slouching a bit and his right leg didn't look right. The other person was a woman who was actually taller than the her partner. She had brown hair and walked in better posture than the guy. They stopped in front of the woman tied to the pole.

"I'm guessing she's hungry."

"Eh, ta bad. She wasn't ta much hel'. Totally ruined da girl's hand."

I would have thought the man was the one talking weirdly. The woman bent down to the girls eye level.

"Next time, ya betta be more car'ful."

Then she spit into the other girl's face. The man didn't look like he was smiling...but he didn't look like he cared that much.

The woman stood up and walked off, the man stayed a bit longer. I couldn't tell exactly what he was doing except that he was looking at the tied up woman. In the end he left the same way as the one before him.

Through all this I had to wonder, why didn't that tied up chick just spit back in her face, or kick out with her legs or just say something. Instead she took it like she was a doll.

A couple of hours passed, still no sign of any real conversations about to happen about Kagome. No one came to give the woman food or water so I guessed she must be on punishment

Another couple hours passed and it started to get dark. Still no one came to the woman.

Maybe she's dead?

No one else was around, the planter had gone away awhile back and the woman peeling the corn had left before it got dark, getting tugged away by a couple kids.

Should I risk it?

"Heeeeeeeeey...Are you dead?"

No answer.

"Lady?"

Silence.

"I have some food back in my pocket."

Her head jerked up and her hands twitched behind her back.

So she's interested. Now if I can just pop free of here.

I wiggled till my arms were blue and scratched. Then out popped an arm. Then the other. And I was free! I guess a bit of wiggling can get you out of a tough spot. But it did take me over and hour. By the time I was done, it was pitch dark outside.

I edged towards the woman and slowly brought out the biscuit Kanna had given me. It tasted like molded bread but I suppose this lady would be hungry.

"Don't say I didn't warn you about the taste though. Mold, eww."

I held it up to her mouth.

She was pretty, I guess. She was blind folded so I couldn't see her eyes. I did see why she hadn't said anything to me or anyone else when she opened her mouth to take the food.

A part of her tongue had been cut off, not the whole thing but enough so it was painful and awkward.

"Jeez, what did you do? You must have done something really bad if they did this to you."

She just chewed her biscuit.

"Well, I have to go back. But I'll try and come back, kay?"

I ran off a bit then turned around and came back to her.

"By the way, my name's Shippo."

----

'Did you get anything, runt?'

'Nope. But I did-'

'NO?'

Inuyasha started pacing and growling. His tail was twitching and he obviously wasn't listening to a word Shippo was saying.

I just went on eating some berries I had found. There was some other late berries and a couple of apples, but nothing very filling. Inuyasha had went to hunt earlier but came up with nothing.

'Inuyasha! Can you not hear me?'

Shippo had jumped onto Inuyasha's head and was screaming at him. I started to get up, watching the two carefully.

Tension had been up since we got to the edge of the camp. Inuyasha had been bothered about something, probably Kagome but I wasn't sure. Shippo hadn't been acting all that strange other than his nightmares when he slept. I figured those were normal, I have plenty of nightmares of the past.

Shippo was biting Inuyasha's head while the dog-wolf growled and snapped.

What if someone from the camp hears them?

I stayed quiet to see if they would stop but they kept at it. It was a mess and they were going to hurt one another soon.

"Shouldn't you stop? They might hear you."

For awhile everything kept going same as before. Then, Inuyasha transformed and ripped Shippo off himself.

"Stay here."

And off he went.

'Stupid, bossy dog. Doesn't even try to listen to me...not fair.'

"Are you alright?"

The little fox transforms as well and wipes his face with his tiny hands. He looks up at me strangely, kind of frowning.

"If I tell you, you have to promise to help me."

I nodded.

"Okay. Well, I found this prisoner..."

----

What is wrong with this place?

I was sitting in a tree, overlooking the village, my eyes were barely open but even then I could still see it. It was huge, there was an open field in the middle of it, a couple of dirt patches that I guess were for planting, a bunch of small cramped huts, narrow dirt roads and a couple of long houses.

And somewhere in that mess was Kagome. And I couldn't do anything.

I had to wait for the chance to get in there and get her back. I was sure she couldn't be happy here. This place was so wrong, nothing good could be residing here.

A harsh wind was starting up, bringing the chill of the near mountains with it. Clouds had swarmed the sky recently and it looked as if they might start letting their snow go before they hit the mountains. At least my winter coat had grown in some time ago.

I was slowly drifting off to sleep, warm and undisturbed.

"Yup, somethin' to do with the girl bein' brought in. Didn't do too good a job on it so the chief got angry at 'er."

"Still don't think it's right ta tie 'er to a pole an' leave her thar. Ain't happy wit' it at all."

"He could've just thrown her out inta the woods."

I cracked an eye open to see two men talking below. One was leaning on a less than sturdy fence post and the other had hands tucked away in his coat. What they were talking about I wouldn't know...it sounded like it might be important.

Let's see, they said something about a girl being 'brought' in and someone being tied to a pole.

It clicked.

Kagome was being held somewhere. Tied to a pole? It was somewhere to start at least.

----

Phew. :D

I already know what I'm going to do with the sequel. Actually I'm kinda planning two more stories that are relevant to this one after I finish this one since there are so many loose ends that would take forever to tie up and would not fit in with Kagome looking for her father.

I know it took me forever to write this and it's shorter than my last one but it took some thinking and inspiration.

I can't remember what inspired me. I was just on the comp one time and I was like...I'm bored and I feel like writing. But none of my other stories were appealing to me at the moment since I was stuck on some weird parts in them. So I finally decided to give this one another go.

I tried to give Kanna a bit more time in her perspective but I guess I really didn't. At least I gave Shippo more time than usual and was able to avoid Kagome's for awhile. I always feel like I do too much in Kagome's point of view. And then when I change perspective, Kagome is always falling asleep or something, which I also need to change soon. And I gave Ginta and Hakkaku a bit more time in the spotlight.

You may be happy to know the second in this "trilogy" will be all about our dear Sango and possibly Miroku. This will be a challenge for me since I never write these two as main characters. I guess some research is due.

I think that's all for now.

See ya later.


	8. Sympathy of Evil

Here comes another one. Right at you.

...Lame I know, humor me.

* * *

We were crawling through the bushes, my dress was getting dirty. Shippo didn't seem to care.

"We're almost there. You remember the plan?"

How could I not? It was amazingly simple.

I nodded and continued to crawl. Shippo didn't really have to crawl, he is already so short, but I think he did it because he wanted to feel sneaky.

"Okay, stay here and I'll go get her. Just be really quiet."

I think he realized his mistake as soon as he put his little hand to his mouth. I've never been loud.

Shippo crawled out and I submerged myself further in the dense, browning bushes. A few leaves fell on my head. I rolled my dress up to my knees so I could run if I needed to. I pulled the bundle off my back and held it.

On the outside it was a rough brown blanket but inside it was what I needed to protect.

The new clothes I had picked for Kagome were neatly packed. There were the red pants, I had washed them in the village before we left. The shirt she had before, however, was torn and bloodied. Something I couldn't fix. So I had packed a different shirt. I can't say it's a _new_ shirt because it looked fairly worn. But it had been the best I could do.

The shirt was a very light shade of grey. It looked like a slightly classier version of a villager shirt. It was meant to be worn loose around the stomach, I suspected the shirt might be for a pregnant woman. The sleeves were long and wide. When I found the shirt it was ripped in two places, the collar and the hem. The sleeves were barely attached to the shirt and slightly more faded than the rest of the shirt.

I wanted Kagome to have a good shirt. So I performed my small part. I worked a bit of magic into the shirt, making it appear new. I tried to make it as strong as armor but I'm not sure if that worked. I'm still not an expert in spells.

"I hope she likes these."

There was a crashing noise and Shippo ran through in his fox form. A woman ran behind him. I didn't show my surprise as I rolled the clothes up and threw the package across my back. I followed the two as fast as I could, what we were running from I don't know. There were no shouts or crashes behind us, just the bushes sighing as we left them.

I remember looking back. Perhaps it was an apparition or my imagination but I saw a woman in red looking towards us with a smile. She opened her arms and took a few steps towards us.

I had slowed down and was tempted to run to the woman. But I bumped into someone.

'Inuyasha!'

Apparently Shippo had run into Inuyasha who was running the other way. I glanced over the shoulder of the woman who we had rescued before turning around.

I didn't see anything but the greens and browns of the forest.

* * *

I was finally allowed to go outside today.

My hand was still numb though when I felt it with the other hand for breaks, there were none. It should have been fine.

My stomach was sore and protested to me moving around. It was healing little better than my hand. At the narrowest point of the wound the skin had put itself back together. But there was a bright pink scar starting.

I feel much healthier though. I'm not sick anymore.

I think it's because of the stuff Robin's been slipping into my boiled water. He appears around sunset and slips something in while trying to be sneaky. I must admit he is, I never saw him put it in. But once I started to feel better I realized there was something in the water.

So, anyways, I was outside. It was nearing noon and the sun was plenty bright. There was a snoring guard to my left and a brute of a woman to my right. In front of me was a boy holding the leather leashes of a pack of brown dogs. Behind me, there was only the woods.

I should just turn around and run. There's nothing stopping me. That guy's asleep and the girl's too far away. But what about those dogs?

"Dogs..."

Yes, dogs were like wolves. And they reminded me too much of Inuyasha. Was he even looking for me now?

"Do you want to pet them? They're real nice."

The boy was talking to me. He was sitting on the ground with the dogs by him. They were panting and sleeping and they certainly didn't look threatening. I walked a bit forward to reach my hand out. A bigger dog sniffed it before laying it's head on it's paws. I was about to pet it.

Inuyasha never did tell me the rest of his story. The part about the dogs, maybe when we meet up again I can ask him to tell me.

I wonder...If Inuyasha is part dog, then he had a dog as a parent? He never does talk about his past. He knows about mine. For the most part. Maybe I can start by telling him more about my past?

Will he even care?

"Hey! Watch ou-"

_CRUNCH_

The dog wasn't so peaceful. As my hand had been going to pet it, it decided it didn't like me anymore. It's teeth were sunk into my hand and there was blood dripping onto my dress. But I didn't cry or scream at the sight. I cringed because of the look of it, however, I couldn't feel the pain.

I had unconsciously used my numb hand to pet it. A lucky break for me. It had no feeling though it could move a bit on it's own. Nothing intricate, just patting something or raising it. It didn't have a sense of feel or pain. I could touch so many more things with it.

The boy was jerking the dog away but it wouldn't let go. Blood kept pouring and the rest of my arm started to numb.

"Come on, Rees! Let go! Please! I don't want you to die!"

The boy had tears streaming down his face. They fell on his pants and a few of the leashes in his hand.

Why is he so upset about the dog? Is it going to get punished?

Then, my hand was free, for the most part. I looked up to see Robin with a sword in his hand. He had sneaked up and sliced the dog's head off. Slowly, though. To give it the most pain. It was still alive when most of it's neck was cut through, all that was left was the jugular. But Robin wanted a show.

"REES!"

The boy sobbed. The other dogs were snarling at Robin and surrounded the boy.

"How dare you injure her."

I sprang forward as Robin made for the boy's head.

I was in time to have his blood spray over my face and arms. His face was so scared, so sad. He had reached for his dogs but they couldn't help. The boy still had a head on his limp shoulders, but barely.

Our blood was merging on the ground. I cradled both the boy's and the dog's head. The other dogs made a circle about us. Robin stood outside the circle, sword dropped on the ground. He never looked natural with that sword in his hands.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't even know you're name. What about your parents? They'll-"

"He was an orphan. No use but caring for these things. Horrible monsters. I suppose he should have been heartbroken if he knew they were being raised to be eaten. But out of the goodness of my heart I allowed him this small joy. Come the winter both him and his dogs would be dead."

This man, he's crazy. Who would ever think those things? Who would ever do those foul deeds? Why?

"What's wrong with you?"

I had been letting my own tears fall on the dead friends. This was the only kind of funeral they could have. And I was sorry.

"What's wrong with you?"

* * *

"Startling, isn't it? The way the sunlight hits the trees and makes them shimmer? As if the world was made to satisfy only our needs for beauty. And truly beauty belongs to it and nothing else. But perhaps we may boast beauty as well? After all, you are certainly a beauty among mortal women. And you should be thankful towards your handsome, glorious, heroic father."

The girl looked away. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned him? But he was right outside the door making sure I was saying what he wanted me to say. I really didn't want to end up like the other rebels in this camp.

"Come now. Surely it isn't so difficult to smile and nod. Think of how worried everyone is about you? They must be sickened with worry for you! Truly, you must realize that those who love you wish you to be happy."

She jerked a bit. Something I said must have made her wake up some from her strange trance.

"What is..."

I nodded, waiting for her to go on but she stopped and wouldn't say anymore. All she did was hang her head and put her hands on the floor.

"That'll be enough from you, monk. Go eat."

Damn, I almost got something from her. If only Robin didn't interrupt every time she almost said something. It seemed like he was paying me only to make her almost talk but wanted the glory of talking to her first. What a weird guy.

Still, he had to know something. I mean, he's sung about heroically in the ballads, he's rich, he has his own village of bandits, he's king of the bandits, he's the best marksmen anywhere in this region, he's clever, he never goes hungry and most importantly...He's won the hearts of girls everywhere.

It wasn't fair for a crazy man to get all the ladies when a perfectly normal man such as myself, never got a single one past the initial kiss.

It wasn't normal.

"Ah sir mank! Aver here!"

Not that woman again.

But here she came. An old woman in hundreds of layers. It was semi warm out but she insisted she was cold. And that she needed the hot love of a young monk to make her warm again. I disappeared around then.

"Ah sir mank, haw I've langed ta see yau again! Especially after yau vanished last time. But I suppase it was sa yau cauld prepare. After all, yau're anly a yaung man."

"Heh heh, yes. Well, I need to go find...a tree or something. To, eh, hide my...er, acorns in."

"I'm sure they're _very_ nice acarns."

She wiggled her bushy eyebrows at me.

I got to get out of here. This woman is going to kill me with her disgusting display of...lust. Gods, never thought I would think that.

"Yes. My wife gave them to me on my twins' first birthday. So that I would always stay loyal to her. So I need to go do that now. Goodbye!"

Free at last, free at last.

But not before hearing her last tribute about this excuse.

"Yeah but, dan't yau wish yaur wife was hat like me?"

* * *

"So neither of you were thinking when you kidnaped her? Feh, just the kind of thing Shippo would do."

"ME? Kanna was in on it too!"

"Actually, you were the one who thought of the plan. I didn't even really help her escape."

"You liar! You were the one who came up with the plan!"

"No, I wasn't. And I just told you I had nothing to do with it."

"You guys are morons. Why didn't I leave you back in the woods?"

"Because _you're_ the moron! Not _us_! Why do _you_ always blame _us_ for _you_ not being responsible! _You're_ the adult!"

"Well, he really isn't an adult, yet. If he was he would have married Miss Kagome already."

"WHA-!"

"Yeah, how come you haven't married her yet? Don't you like her?"

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about. Idiots."

"But if you didn't like her then why would we be trying to save her?"

"Indeed."

"ARRR! SHIPPO YOU'RE DEAD!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

What exactly is happening?

The small camp was chaos cramped into one small space. I'd never seen this amount of chaos. Not even in battle.

"You're so MEAN!"

I'm glad I wasn't involved in the argument. Then again, I wouldn't be able to even if I wanted to be. Thanks to Robin.

Robin...

I stood up and walked away. My stomach was grumbling but I didn't care at the moment if I collapsed from hunger. At least I wouldn't have that constant pain anymore.

"You two are impossible! Haven't you noticed our guest left us?"

I heard the little girl's voice. She was scolding the boys.

I guess they came back with some argument but I didn't hear.

My right hand reached over to my back. I touched the hidden deformity gently. Wishing it would start to burn again. Just so I could remember the pain of the night.

I was so tired. I slid down to the ground and rested against a tree. If those people wanted to care for me then they'd have to come find me. Because I felt that I wasn't going to be able to move from this spot for a long time.

So I closed my eyes and willed myself to remember that pain and feel it once more. So that I could remember.

* * *

It had happened when I was just starting my teenage years. I lived with my small family in a village near the mountains. My mother ran the house like a fortress, my father issued advice and the odd comfort. I was in charge of her. My baby sister, Nami.

She was only a year old when my parents announced another baby was on the way. So my mother took to her bed to rest. My father took on extra work so that we would have enough food.

Nami was always tiny. She took after mother. Mother was so little, I was already bigger than her at the age of eleven. Nami had soft brown curls and big blue eyes courtesy of Mother. I loved her but grew tired of her constant crying sometimes. She was hungry but my mother wouldn't feed her because she claimed she had to save for the next baby to come. So I would find Nami soft berries or peas to eat. Once a week Grand One would come by with a pail of milk. And, then, little Nami would have some.

My mother was finally going to give birth. The village was having a celebration for the Mountain God who watched over the village. And father was out with a party of men to get rid of a bear that had been stealing meat. I was at home watching over Nami.

"Make sure to keep the little one calm. Your mother needs quiet, this birth will not be as easy as her previous ones. She is much older."

I nodded to the midwife and cradled Nami to myself. Mother screamed for most of the night. The midwife came out only once to wash the blood from her hands. Then she disappeared back into the room.

I heard a raspy scream before a baby's crying echoed through the house. I was relieved.

"Shoro! Hide yourself and the children! The village is being attacked!"

"WHAT?"

The midwife came roaring out. In her arms was my baby brother.

"Men are attacking the village. You must take the mother and the children-"

"These children have no mother."

"You must take these children away from here."

"I have my own family to protect."

"Then go, what business is mine to tell you whether to care for innocent children or not."

"Here."

She handed me the baby quickly and was leaving.

"Wait! What's his name?"

She didn't even spare a glance at me. She threw the name over her shoulder and ran.

"Kohaku."

And suddenly the house had no adults left. I was going to go to my mother but Nami started to pull on the toes of Kohaku. I just ran out the door and towards the town hall. It was the brightest place, and I hated the dark.

When I got there, the place was on fire. There were people everywhere, burning. There was the midwife, her selfishness lead to her death is all I can say about her.

So I stood on the side with two babies in my arms and watched the fire. Kohaku was wailing for his first feed and that set off Nami's own hunger. I wanted to cry too, so I did.

While I sat there crying, a man came to me. I couldn't see his face clearly but he had such dark hair.

"They are hungry. Please, take this food. It will calm them."

I trusted him. I took his food and shoved into my siblings' mouths without second thought. They stopped crying. Nami fell asleep quickly afterward while Kohaku spit it out and kept up his wailing.

"Shh...please, baby. Please, shh."

"May I take him? Perhaps he needs to be rocked?"

I handed him the little one and held onto Nami. The man handled Kohaku so gently for a man. He cradled the little head and cooed.

"You must be hungry and tired, take this and follow me."

He handed me a piece of soft, creamy bread that I ate in one bite. I stumbled after him with the heavy Nami in my arms. He was heading into the woods. I was scared of the dark and was whimpering.

"Please, don't be afraid. Your father and some of the villagers are waiting deeper in the woods."

I held onto this thought and went through the woods. When we came to a clearing I did find my father and some of the villagers that escaped the inferno of the attacked village.

"Father!"

"Sango, come here, my daughter."

He opened his arms and I fell into them gladly.

I didn't realize that the man had also scooped up Nami and held her beside Kohaku. All I knew was the warmth of my father after the scary night.

"I'm sorry that you must die this way, my daughter."

"Father?"

I looked up at his sad face and then I screamed.

Father had driven his sickle into my back and ran it through my skin. The villagers fell to their knees and watched. The man stood in the shadows, something glistened on his face if a stray light passed it.

Finally Father released me. I dropped to the ground, crying. He dropped beside me while dropping the bloody sickle.

I felt something strange inside me stir. I wanted revenge. And I took my chance at it.

I picked the weapon up and plunged it into my father's neck. He died quickly. And I fell near him, rolling into a ball.

"I am sorry, little one. I will keep these ones safe. Goodbye."

As he turned to leave the man stopped. He went over to me and touched my back gingerly. I was surprised when the pain dulled and I fell asleep.

When I awoke I was surrounded by a band of man with arrows and various other weapons pointed at me.

"So the sleeping princess awakes. Now let us see if her palace does the same."

I couldn't see who was talking to me but I didn't recognize the deep voice. It wasn't the same voice as the man 's from last night. That voice had been liquid metal.

"Now, I am wondering, dear little princess, whether you were the one to cast the spell of enternal sleep over your own palace."

I cried again. I remembered the sickle and the pain. The pain was much less now but still horrible.

"So you are sorry for your actions? I'm afraid it's too late to save your soul."

The man walked over to me and pulled me into the air by my hair. I cried just a little bit harder.

"But would you like to live?"

I nodded my head. It was the truth, I didn't want to die.

"The princess is selfish, as all princesses are."

The man punched me, hard. My lip cracked and my cheek stung. I thought he would kill me.

"That was the first of many beatings that you will live through. So that you may transform from a princess to a warrior."

He dropped me. I fell on my wrist and it now hurt as well.

"Come along now."

So I followed the man, getting kicked and tripped by the men surrounding me. I wanted to give up but they would kill me. And I really was too selfish to die.

I promised that I would save myself. I would escape and get back Nami and Kohaku. And we'd live happily ever after like princes and princesses should. If only I was a princess.

* * *

"Okay, we've got to find Kagome. Tonight."

"Yeah, but how? You're other plan sure didn't work out."

"Feh!"

I wasn't happy with Shippo pointing out my flaws. He should know the code of the stronger one leads and the weaker...doesn't.

"Maybe I could help this time, too?"

"What can you do? You're a little girl."

"I'm a sorceress."

"Can you do anything?"

"I can cause a distraction."

Pfft...Shippo could do that by just running through there and singing. And maybe he should...hmm.

"I've got a better idea."

"You have an idea?"

"SHUT UP!"

My hand went down on his head. I just got so frustrated with him and his talking. He needed to listen once in awhile.

"What was your idea?"

"Shippo will cause the distraction since he's the only one who's got a big enough mouth for it..."

"You're one to talk."

"And you'll make some sort of spell to hide me and you. So we can get through the village."

"I'm not sure if I can. I might be able to for a few minutes at a time but..."

Damn girl. Sorceress indeed! Gah.

My ears swivelled back towards the forest. Someone was coming into the clearing without trying to hide themselves.

A growl was halfway out my mouth when the girl we rescued before came out. She looked pretty serious.

"Pweathe, let ne elp oo."

Huh, I bet she's trying to give our heads to her leader so she can get back her credit. Cheap.

"No."

"Okay."

"..."

Me and Shippo were already trying to kill each other. I vaguely saw Kanna walk over to the woman and hand her something.

"Hey, is that food?"

"Yes."

"Is it meat?"

"Yes."

That witch was holding out meat! I knew she was wasn't really into the partner thing.

"Hey Kanna?"

"Yes, Shippo?"

"Maybe you could help her talk, with your magic?"

Kanna looked down to the ground and shuffled her feet.

And back comes the shy girl act. Pathetic.

"I'm not sure. That could be difficult."

"Could you try?"

"But..."

"Feh! If the witch doesn't have anything she is sure of doing why don't we throw her in a lake and see if she's sure if she'll sink."

I crossed my arms and started walking away. Shippo was fuming at me, the new girl was silent of course and Kanna said something under her breath.

"Give this tongue a rebirth!"

Is she actually trying to do it?

I turned to see a light shoot from Kanna's mouth and into the new girl's.

My eyes widened as I realized what Kanna had done. Just to show me she could.

* * *

Yay, another chapter for the likes of you.

Sorry for eating my !-?. I tried to fix it by putting a space by it but I'm not to sure if it worked.

Put less Kagome and more other characters in. Sango's part was hard to write and I'm not quite satisfied with it. But I'll let it be until I have enough energy to fix it.

My other fics aren't dead but I started school again. And it's harder this year. Plus I need to get more sleep into my schedule so I'll be going to sleep earlier than last year.

I'd love feedback but I don't need it. I write this story because I like writing it not because I want reviews. And that's what it is with all my stories.

Are you living in the real world?


	9. Tears Belonging to Death

Goodness...yet another coming out.

I just love this story.

* * *

_Please save me..._

_I just want to be saved..._

_Can't you help me?_

"_Never again shall the cursed walk the earth. The earth I forged and used my energy on. This earth will crumble and all you standing upon it. I have no mercy for your wretched souls."_

_But please..._

_I have lost all who I loved..._

_Can I not be with them in the end?_

"_You all who have been shunned to the clouds will live through everlasting purgatory. Never truly living nor dying. This is your punishment."_

_Please..._

_It was not my decision to be born..._

_So must I be punished for something that was never under my control?_

"_Nothing is ever in your control. I am the force that allows you to think and act. I made no promise to allow you freedom. I shall watch over you and I shall mold you to your destiny."_

_Tell me please..._

_I was born and taken from my loved ones..._

_To fulfill the dreadful destiny of never truly living?_

"_Destiny chooses wisely. No matter what you think of it, the future shall never be altered."_

_Then please..._

_If destiny chooses wisely..._

_Why did she choose you to make this earth only to abandon it?_

"_Destiny does not control me! I am the ultimate! I am the everlasting! I shall rule over all forever more!"_

_I do not understand..._

_If destiny can be controlled..._

_Why can I not control it as well?_

"_Mortals...**half breeds** were never meant to hold the power of destiny. It is too divine a power for any single being. Only I may bend destiny."_

_But then..._

_Why..._

_Were mortals condemned to never live their own lives?_

"_Only a god may hold true power."_

_Then why was I not born a god?_

"_Enough! Leave me! You are to go to the clouds and never return to the earth."_

_I only wanted to..._

_Live._

_

* * *

_

Eyes stared into the darkness. Shallow breathing could be heard after the silence. A woman placed her hands on the floor and began to cough.

Blood came and came. Soon the thick liquid started to move towards the woman's knees. She didn't care. Her clothes were dirty already, what would it matter if just a bit more blood seeped into the fabric?

What would it matter?

Her thoughts were dark and centered on very few things. The woman had only lived a small part of her life. The other part was lived by someone other than herself.

The woman was no one. She had no place anywhere; especially not within this body. She was supposed to be gone, yet was still there.

"_Am I to be haunted?_"

The last bits of blood dripped from the woman's mouth as she spoke these words. Her hands were splattered with her own blood; both from before and just now.

The woman who was no one had her life taken away from her at an early age. The person who had taken over the no one woman called herself a sorceress. Kikyo.

But perhaps that was the woman's true name? Or perhaps the new woman had given that name to the body.

This sorceress, had come when the woman was but a girl.

* * *

"Sister? Sister?"

"I am here, little one."

A small girl came out of her hiding spot to see her beloved older sister.

"Sister, are we alone?"

The older girl shook her head no and gingerly took the little one's hand. She started to lead her away from their former village.

The two girls had been orphaned many years ago and had stayed in the village. They kept to themselves except to help others when they could. They had never been given names and only knew each other as 'Sister'.

The village had been attacked by some warlord's army. Luckily, the warlord had issued orders that he had changed his mind and to leave the village. But to kill a few villagers as a warning.

Of course, a 'few' villagers was quite a lot to the warriors. They took it upon themselves to serve justice to the richest and weakest.

The sisters had made a small shelter to the side of one house. When the warriors came they hid.

The smaller one going into the rubbish heap while the older one hiding under the steps of a house. The warriors passed by, only taking the old woman who lived nearby and killing her. The older sister avoided her eyes from the bloody scene and wished she could help.

"Sister, will we be happy in a new village?"

"Who says you are going anywhere?"

The younger sister looked back; while the older one started to run and tug her sister behind her.

An arrow shot past them, followed by a less innocent one.

"SISTER!"

The elder crumpled down and gripped her chest. Blood spouted out and the arrow had nearly been shot with enough force to go all the way through. As it was, the point of the arrow just touched the girl's inner self. Making the skin bulge and bruise.

The man walked away, throwing bow and arrows over his shoulder. He had been assigned to kill one child and he had done that. Now he could go home and embrace his own grandchildren.

The older girl was vomiting huge amounts of blood and the little food that she had eaten before. The younger stayed by her side and cried and screamed. The little one would be left alone in the world.

"Sister...please, leave here and be safe."

The little one shook her head and gripped her sister tightly.

"No, sister, I'll save you. Don't worry. We'll be alright."

The older sister gave a small sigh and tried to hang on, no matter the pain, so her sister wouldn't be so alone.

"Can't believe, we weren't allowed to kill 'em all. Waste o' time. I think we should do a little clean up work."

A small group of warriors came down the road. They stopped a little ways away from the sisters.

"I guess someone was stingy with their arrows."

The man who had talked drew three arrows on his bow and pulled back. As he let go, the elder did her last act of heroism. She pulled her sister behind her own body, then let her body fall on top.

"Act as if you were dead, little one."

A man came over to check if the girls were truly dead. He saw the older sister's blood on the younger one's and assumed it was hers. He gave the okay that they were both dead and the group left.

"Sister?"

The younger sat up and pulled her sister's body along with her. The older girl's face was slack and her body was limp. She no longer possessed her spirit.

"Sister? Please. Don't leave me here alone."

So one sister was left with her sister's death in her lap. She cut a strand of hair from her sister's body and left.

She slowly grew older, the death of her sister never leaving her mind. She wanted to put her sister to true rest; or bring her back.

She finally found an old man who would teach her sorcery. The man was fickle and didn't like to call her girl so he gave her a name; Kaede.

Kaede learned to be a sorceress with her sister in her mind. She thought the training was too long, she needed to help her sister before the spirit left for the other world for good.

The man insisted the he not teach her spells of spirit. It was too dangerous a time and anyone could be the next ultimate evil. So Kaede stole his scrolls and notes. She ran away with them to the hut she had been staying at in the mountains.

She saw the spells for putting spirits to rest, ridding homes of evil spirits and finally, the spell of which to bring a spirit back from the dead.

Kaede took out the lock of hair from her sister. She placed it on the floor and began the week long spell. Once the week was over she would either have her sister back or would be left with nothing yet again.

She had hastily sped past the part where it said to be careful that what you use to bring the spirit back contained nothing of your own body. One of her own tears had fallen onto the hair.

The spell was complete and something began to happen. A bright flash and a spinning vortex appeared a few feet above the ground. A thin, otherworldly hand reached out for the hair. It spent minutes feeling the hair and finally took the hair in. Kaede was overjoyed to see when a white leg appeared and began to step out along with another hand reaching out. A white figure stepped out, black hair flapping behind her. Kaede stepped forward to greet her sister but noticed the vortex not yet closing.

The woman reached for Kaede and pulled her to the vortex. A pair of pale blue hands reached out towards Kaede's face. Searching for what they needed.

Kaede was shocked by what was happening. She couldn't remember what could have caused this. Had she tried to deal with something too powerful for her?

The hand finally found what it desired. The eye that had given birth to the lost tear.

Kaede screamed as her eye was ripped away from her and taken into the vortex. It closed tightly and left only Kaede's sobs and her supposed sister.

The figure stood by, offering a comforting hand to this girl, waiting for something.

Kaede's sobs died down, blood was a pool around her. The thick liquid gently lapping at the figure's feet. She seemed unaffected by it.

The bloodied hand of Kaede reached towards her sister.

"I am so happy...that you have come back to me, sister."

The girl pushed the hand away and turned away, "I am no one's sister."

"What?"

"I am the mighty sorceress, Kikyo. You have brought me back from hell and I shall enjoy my new life," The girl turned and Kaede gasped at the cold glare, "However, you shall die."

Kikyo walked towards the cowering Kaede. She swept her hands in front of her, suddenly gaining pristine white clothing. She moved a hand in front of her mouth and sighed. The breath came out and once blowing across the phantom's hand became frozen. The air shot towards Kaede yet nothing happened.

Feeling brave, the girl stood and placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Sister? What has happened to you?"

"I told you, girl, I am no one's sister!"

And so, the phantom disappeared. A smear of blood staining her clothes. She left only a curse.

* * *

The woman touched her chest. There was a hole there, from long ago when an arrow had shot through her. It didn't hurt anymore, pain no longer existed for the girl. She knew the sorceress was hurting. She was the one who used the body and was connected with it.

"_Sister...I remember you."_

The girl began to feel the sorceress awakening. She would want her body back when she did. The girl let herself drift away, to make room for the phantom.

* * *

"See? I told you we'd get here."

The two wolves panted.

"Yep, there'll be plenty of food here. Nothing to worry about and no one but us to eat all that food."

"Yeah, but, Kouga," The two panting wolves had switched to their human like appearances. The one talking had a greyish white mohawk, "Isn't this where Ayame's tribe lives?"

The leader just waved the comment away, "If she comes after us, I'll just run faster."

"But...we can't run as fast as you!" This time the wolf with the full head of hair spoke.

"That's your problem. I can't always be saving you, you've got to learn to defend yourselves."

The two looked at each other, "We always get left behind..."

When they looked up their leader had already started running for a nearby herd of deer.

"HEY! WAIT UP!"

* * *

I woke up with my hand pressed down over my mouth. I knew I was crying even in my sleep.

If I made a noise, Robin would come in with some kind of new poison. And I didn't want him near me.

My hair was wet from the constant tears that were sliding down my face. It seemed that whenever I fell asleep I woke up with tears.

I figured I must be having sad dreams. It would help if I could remember those dreams. But I can't. There's a wall that separates my conscious mind from my unconscious mind. I always listened when my mother told me the dreams that would light up her day, never really knowing what a dream was like.

I dream, I know I do. Whenever I feel deja vu I know it's because of a past dream.

So I suppose my crying must be from some tragic dreams. Perhaps about the boy and his dogs? Or something hidden from view?

I ran my good hand down my face. Strangely, my hand felt like ice. The rest of me was fine. I don't think it's that cold out.

I sat up and peeked out the door. There was a light rain and a heavy wind. In the distance, a thunder head was forming. The few people I could see were bundled from head to toe. It must be cold out.

But I don't feel anything.

I felt my head again, it was fire compared to my good hand. But...what did that mean?

Was I poisoned? Am I sick and burning with fever? Am I imagining this?

"Is she awake, yet?"

"I believe so, sir. Heard some stirring."

How could that guard hear me? I thought I was being quiet.

"Ah, so you are awake."

I cringed away from the man. His smile was too sweet for someone who had just murdered an innocent boy.

"Come, I have something to show you. It will open your eyes."

He reached his hand toward me. I scooted away and bunched up my blanket around me.

Robin only shrugged when I didn't take his hand and started to walk out the door. He stopped right before and whispered something.

"I think I heard howling in the woods last night. Perhaps, if you don't want to come with me now to see the camp, later you can come and watch the men hunt wolves this evening."

Inuyasha...You were howling last night?

I got up and wrapped and old shawl around my shoulders. I had to jog to catch up to Robin who had left.

"To the east are the training grounds. Nothing too interesting happening there today. To the north are the farms. To the west are most of the houses and kitchens." He paused and breathed in deeply, "But to the south is where we are headed. That is where a great deed of mine is displayed."

I shivered in the rain and at his voice.

We walked in silence for a while. I almost enjoyed the walk, until we passed by a group of children that were shivering in the cold.

Robin didn't spare them a second glance but I slowed down. I began to take off my blanket to offer to them when Robin's big hand came down on my own.

"Leave them. They are urchins and will either survive or die. It is their choosing."

With that, he pulled me along. His grip was too tight on my arm. I couldn't walk as fast as him and I stumbled several times.

"Ah, here it is."

There was a low building in front of me.

"Come, it is warmer inside."

I followed him through the door and had to squint my eyes.

It's so dark.

"Let me light a few lamps. Then you shall see."

I waited for him to get the lamps burning before turning my eyes to the walls.

"Impressive, yes?"

I staggered back. All around me was something I felt I had seen before. Something tragic.

_...saw so many bodies_...

I've seen this before.

..._Mother, mate, children and the most horrific crime, Father_...

It must have been a dream. This horrible thing.

So many wolves's pelts hung on the walls and piled atop each other. There was one that had been stuffed and put into a spot of honor.

A white wolf, huge and powerful.

..._Then Father. He was too worthy for this place, too powerful_...

His eyes had been replaced with golden beads. His mouth was open in a sorrowful howl. From where I stood it looked like three of his teeth were missing. But that was a minor thing in my mind.

All I could think of was all these wolves, once were able to think, live and act. But now, Robin had killed them and put them on display.

"No..."

He had been stroking one of the brown pelts. He now turned at my voice and raised an eyebrow.

"How could you do this?"

He started to walk towards me, a glint in his eye.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I ran out the door and tried to get to the woods. I cried out as my good arm was pulled back and twisted behind me.

"Where are you going, daughter?"

Tears were flowing freely, I couldn't stop them now. All my sadness had built up since I had been brought here.

I wanted to get away from his grip. I turned and tried to hit him with my numb hand. He didn't even have to dodge it.

"Let go!"

I swung at him again, this time catching his collar and dragging it down.

I stopped myself long enough to look at his neck.

..._with a long narrow cut on his neck_...

There was the scar. Exactly where I dreamed it had been. Were my dreams not just dreams, but views of the past?

"A white wolf gave me that scar. One of the few wolves I couldn't catch."

Now, my pain only doubled. I remembered the feelings of that dream and my sobs left me aching for breath.

Inuyasha, please come for me.

* * *

Arg-eth...T.T

I'm not satisfied with how short this chapter is or the arrangement. Originally Kagome's part was right after the dream. But I feared that if I left you with Kouga you'd forget Kagome.

Just telling you, Kikyo (the woman) was not the one having the dream. As always it was Kagome. And I decided to change how I wrote Kikyo, I didn't want to make her out to be the bad guy. She was only put in a tragic situation.

I'm not sure why Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku are even in here. sweatdrop They just appear randomly. I'll try to tell their story and have them meet up with Sango later. Kouga probably won't be seeing much of Inuyasha and Kagome.

I'm wondering whether you like the short or the long chapters better? Huh... Anyways, I have a four-day weekend coming up which I will try to focus on writing.

I already know what I'm going to write when I get back to Inuyasha. But I thought it needed a whole different chapter. (Because of what Kanna did.) So I'll get right on it.

But first...turns to Gravitation manga...Yummy!


End file.
